Taboo
by bnomiko
Summary: All hell breaks loose when Seto finds out that Mokuba and Noa have started a relationship with one another. Can he learn to accept it? ShonenAi. Stepshipping [NoaMokuba] and Prideshipping [SetoYami].
1. Prologue: On This Night of a 1000 Stars

Pairing(s): Main: Noa + Mokuba, Seto + Yami. Minor: Yamato + Kouya, Anzu + Yugi, Mai + Jou, Malik + Bakura  
Warnings: swearing  
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "On This Night of a Thousand Stars" is from the musical Evita, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Stud Muffins Horse Treats are a product of Stud Muffins. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

**This is a SHOUJO-AI (female + female romantic relationship) and SHONEN-AI fic (male + male romantic relationship). If you are offended by homosexual relationships, please do not read this. Flames will be disregarded.**

Setup for this fic:   
- Part of the Kai-baby / Yami-kins AU. Chronologically set late spring after 'Tis the Season.  
- Noa has been brought out of the virtual world, has a new body, and is living with Mokuba and Seto, and Yami has his own body and is separate from Yugi. The how and why isn't important on either of those.  
- "Bakura" throughout this story refers to Ryou Bakura, the hikari, and "Malik" refers to Malik Ishtar, the hikari.  
- Ages of characters: Seto is 20, Yami 19, Noa 15, and Mokuba 14.

**

* * *

**

**Prologue: On This Night of a Thousand Stars**

* * *

Mokuba frowned at the mirror, tilting his chin up to get a better look at the mark at the base of his throat. _Damn it. _Another hickey… he was beginning to think that he was going to be stuck wearing turtlenecks for the rest of his life.

"It's not so bad… at least no one will see it unless they're looking for it," Noa commented from behind as he finished buttoning his shirt.

The younger teen gave the spot an experimental poke, then began buttoning up his own shirt as well. At least the banded collar of his tuxedo shirt easily hid the evidence of his late night activities. "You mean it's not so bad _this_ time." He sighed. "Maybe I should start wearing a collar like Yami. I always wondered about that… I know Yugi started it, but Yami took it to the next step."

"I think it's some kinky sex thing, you know?"

Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to think about Yugi plus 'kinky sex things.' Bad enough that Yami… I mean… _arrrgh!_"

Noa grinned and shrugged, then lazily drawled, "I bet Anzu secretly likes it. 'Oh Yugi, you look so cute in leather… ooh, you're soooo _BAD…_'"

"Eww! Stop it!" Mokuba made a face, though inwardly he admitted that his brother was probably right. Who knew what sort of things went on in their friends' relationships? He really was thankful he didn't know; it was bad enough that Seto and Yami made a huge spectacle of their lovemaking, visually and audibly, but to think of the members of Yugi-tachi naked… _No thank you. I'll pass. _At least he and Noa were exercising restraint and hadn't taken things that far themselves, though… _That won't matter to Seto; he'll still kill us._

Noa watched Mokuba's expression carefully as he pulled on his vest. He understood the younger teen well enough to know what he was thinking and hell, that same worry regularly plagued his thoughts as well. Everything had been going well so far, but he knew sooner or later their luck would run out, and then what? What would Seto think of their clandestine relationship? A small part of him was sick of hiding the truth as if it were some awful, dirty thing, and if Seto couldn't deal with it, oh well. But his more reasonable side knew that that sort of attitude wouldn't fly with Mokuba, and he didn't want to do anything that would cause Mokuba more distress, and… he had to admit that he did care about Seto's approval as well. Because they were family, and that meant a lot to him.

Now Yami... Yami was a different matter. Noa was certain that Yami wasn't aware of what was going on either or else wouldn't he have gone straight to Seto and told him about it? As much as he liked Yami and considered him part of their family, it was obvious that the former Pharaoh's loyalties were to Seto first. Mokuba on the other hand thought Yami was beginning to put two and two together, claiming that he had noticed the older teen staring at his neck on several occassions, but he wasn't going to just come out and ask him what he knew about it, and neither was Noa. So that was just another headache to deal with.

"You know we can't just tell them," Mokuba said just as Noa was about to suggest the opposite thing. The green-haired teen sighed in frustration. "Noa, please… especially not today…"

_Then when? Isn't it better to just come out and tell them sooner rather than later?_ Noa wondered, but he bit back that comment, settling for saying, "I just don't want to end up like Yamato and Kouya. I mean, they're resorting to taking freshmen… _US_… to prom, just so their parents won't find out they're lesbians." _Is that going to be us three years from now? _But he left the rest unsaid.

"I know," Mokuba responded, crestfallen.

Noa couldn't help but walk over and give his brother a hug, wrapping his arms around the other's shoulders from behind, though he found little relief from the contact. "We'll make it work somehow, no matter what," he said, though he wasn't sure if he believed that himself.

* * *

Seto had become very good about leaving work by 6:00 PM, especially on Fridays, but for once he had an extra reason to rush home. Prom. He still couldn't believe it. Was it normal for a pair of freshmen to get invites to prom from seniors? Seto had never gone to prom himself so he hadn't a clue, but it sure seemed that things were perhaps more serious between his brothers and their girlfriends than he had realized, and he wasn't sure if he approved, but… he really couldn't deny them permission to go. They had been so excited about it. Yami thought it sounded like fun. And the girls were all right he supposed, even if they were three years older than his brothers. Okay, so the age difference did concern him… a lot. Not that either one seemed like the starry-eyed gold digger type, but he couldn't imagine why the girls couldn't find dates their own age. They seemed bright enough and weren't unattractive, so why the interest in his little brothers?

Upon his insistence, he had first been introduced to Kouya and Yamato a little less than three months prior. So the girls had shown up on a Friday night at the mansion, meeting him and Yami and all of Yugi-tachi before heading out with Mokuba and Noa for a movie. And everyone liked them well enough. Mokuba's girlfriend, Kouya Sakagami, was the younger of the two; a soft-spoken and polite honors student with short black hair and glasses. In contrast, Noa's girlfriend Yamato Nakano was a lot more talkative and sharp with her wit, a softball player with blonde hair and a ready smile. They made quite the quartet, bubbling with the type of enthusiasm that only teens in puppy love seemed to be able to muster.

_Teens with girlfriends today, and then they'll be grown up and married before I know it. Before I'm ready._ Seto sighed, suddenly feeling much older, wondering if he'd ever be ready to see either one of his brothers grow up. The sight of the black limo parked under the porte-cochere, waiting in anticipation of the special evening, did nothing to settle his nerves as he finally arrived home with plenty of time to spare.

As the young CEO exited his vehicle, a mop of black hair bounced into view, putting a slight smile on his face. Mokuba used to regularly run out to greet him when he got home from work, but now his usual greeting came from Kuriboh, Yami's pet pony cum guard dog. Well, he thought of Kuriboh as Yami's pony, but the thing was oddly attached to him for some reason and would run up alongside the car as he left and came back from work, and then follow him around any other time he was outside. Not that the little guy didn't learn to like Yami and his constant supply of Stud Muffins, but his tiny horsey brain had decided that Seto was his favorite person in the whole universe, and everyone else was a chew toy to some degree or another. Like… Valon. And Jou. And thusly, Seto decided that he ought to be allowed to run loose all over the grounds, much to the chagrin of the security staff, housekeeper, mailman, gardeners...

The smile turned into a smirk, and Seto bent down to ruffle the pony's mane for a moment. "Sorry, I don't have time to play with you today."

Kuriboh answered with a snort and a toss of his head before turning and trotting away to go graze on the lawn.

_Life's a lot simpler when all you think about is eating, shitting, and sleeping_, Seto thought to himself as he watched the plump pony pick his way through the grass, but that wasn't realistic, and he didn't want to be as dumb as horse anyways. So with a deep breath, Seto straightened his back and headed up to the front door, hoping that Yami had the foresight to plan _something_ to keep him distracted throughout the evening.

* * *

"You two look really good," Yami said, nodding in approval at Mokuba and Noa's matching ensembles: black cutaway tuxedo jackets and trousers, full back vests in a silver geometric print, and white banded collar shirts. It was an odd mix of traditional and modern pieces, something that only teenagers could get away with, but it looked almost appropriate on them. Part of Yami felt like a proud parent just looking at the two of them, though he was only a few years older than the two brothers himself. Undoubtedly, Seto had to feel the same way times a hundred, the ebb and flow of his emotions pounding steadily in the back of Yami's mind. "Getting nervous yet?"

"Nah, it's just prom," Noa answered loftily. "And not even our prom really…"

"They're seniors, so this is a big deal for them. And it's like a girl thing anyways, I think," Mokuba amended.

Yami had to chuckle at that. "It's just for girls, huh?" He tugged at the hem of the Mandarin collared tuxedo jacket he had chosen for himself for the evening.

The black-haired teen suddenly realized why the ex-spirit found that comment so entertaining. "Oh, don't get me wrong, Yami. I think it's great that you want to take Nii-sama out for the evening since he never… well, you know."

Seeing Yami's eyebrow arched in amusement, Noa laughed and pointed out, "I don't think Yami had the option of going to prom either."

Mokuba frowned. "I know _that_. But like I was saying… don't be surprised if Nii-sama complains throughout…"

"I know, Seto's a bundle of nerves. I can feel it, even though he doesn't want anyone to notice." Yami paused, watching as Noa reached over to smooth the back of Mokuba's jacket. It seemed so natural seeing the two of them together… he couldn't help but wonder if he was seeing things that weren't really there, or if in fact there was something to it. There just seemed to be too many coincidences for it all to be accidental. But… he wasn't going to broach the subject if Mokuba and Noa weren't ready or willing to talk about it first; if they were hiding something, he had the feeling that the main reason for that had just stepped through the front door. So he shut down that train of thought and told Mokuba and Noa, "It'll be fine. I'll take care of him. The two of you have a good time tonight. And Seto just got home, so let's go down and spring my surprise on him!"

* * *

Knowing that Yami was aware of his whereabouts, Seto lingered at the base of the stairs and waited for his boyfriend and brothers to come down to welcome him home. He knew Mokuba and Noa had to be dressed and ready to go since they had dinner reservations at 7:00, but he couldn't help but be a bit… dumbfounded when they finally came down. Sure, he had seen them in suits and much fancier tuxedos before, but this time… it was different. Special.

Mokuba shifted nervously on his feet, waiting for Seto to say something, but when he didn't make a sound, he finally filled the silence with, "Well… do we look okay?"

"Uh… yeah." Why hadn't he noticed before that they were both marginally taller than Yami already? "Yeah, you both look nice." And why was Yami in a tux of his own? "Yami…?"

Noa and Mokuba both glanced at the ex-spirit standing between them as he smiled reassuringly at his lover. _I thought we could do something special this evening too since I never had a chance to go to a prom._

_Hn. Me neither._ But he hadn't thought he had missed anything until that moment. Then again… _What did you have in mind?_

_Oh, you know… the usual prom stuff. Get dressed up, go to dinner, maybe have a whirl on the dance floor, and then make out in the back seat of the…_

"Um, Nii-sama… are you all right?" Mokuba asked, a bit concerned at seeing Seto go from a lustful smirk to a deep frown in a millisecond.

The brunette tore his gaze away from his crimson-eyed lover and fixed it on his little brother instead. "You better NOT be planning to make out with your girlfriends in the back of the limo!"

"Of course not," Noa answered truthfully. He had no plans to make out with any girls, ever. "That'd be like… I dunno, making out in your bed or something. That's just nasty."

"Good. Wait; what is _that _supposed to mean?!"

Yami cleared his throat, then walked down the final few steps to claim Seto's arm, pulling him out of the way. "You boys better get going or else you'll be late. The limo's out front, and you have your tickets right? Oh, and the girl's corsages are in the…"

"No, wait," Seto protested. "What the fuck was that supposed to mean?"

"… fridge. Have a good time!" Yami called out cheerfully as he began tugging Seto up the stairs to their bedroom.

* * *

Oh, Seto was not happy. That much was evident as he grumbled endlessly while changing into the tuxedo Yami had purchased for him, black and Mandarin collared to match Yami's own, but with the jacket cut like a trench coat. But Yami smiled genially through all of his lover's complaining, knowing that the plans he made for that evening would help alleviate some of the stress Seto was under.

Suddenly Seto stopped fussing with his jacket and turned to look Yami squarely in the eyes. "Tell me I'm making a big deal out of nothing."

"Prom is a big deal." Seto sighed at that, so Yami quickly added, "But I meant for them, not for you… Kai-baby, I know they're growing up, but you know… you'll always be their big brother; they'll never outgrow that."

Seto's brows knitted as he considered his boyfriend's statement. _Am I that obvious?_

_I just know you, that's all. _Yami's eyes softened as he went and wrapped his arms around Seto's waist, resting his head on the brunette's chest to listen to the strong, wild beats of his heart as they gradually slowed to a more sedate pace. _So are you still up for a "prom" of our own?_

_Dinner, dancing…_

… _and "dessert."_ Yami smirked broadly.

_I'd like to say fuck the first two, and go straight on to the third, BUT…_ and Seto nearly laughed out loud at the look on Yami's face, _all right,_ _we'll do it your way._ He gently disengaged Yami's arms from around his waist, then held his hand out to the shorter duelist. "Shall we?"

Yami happily took the proffered hand in his own as he and Seto headed out of the bedroom in anticipation of their own special evening.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:  
- I know some people are going to freak at the pairing in this fic (MokieNoa) but keep in mind they aren't actually brothers even though they refer to each other as such. But obviously... if it still makes you nervous, then don't read this fic. The boys won't be doing anything worse than kissing and necking, but I won't take kindly to people saying, "Eww, they're brothers!" since I noted the pairing right up top :p  
- Just a note on the title of the fic and chapters… I'm going with all Broadway musical inspired titles this time. Let's see how well that works out…  
- Loveless reference: Rather than make up random girls, I borrowed Yamato and Kouya from Loveless. They seem to me to be about the right age and sexual orientation as what I was going for, so it was easier put them in the story rather than make up OCs. Not really important – this isn't a crossover in any way and you probably won't see much mention of them past this point.  
- Horsey treats have such cute names. Stud Muffins was one I found online… they're balls of grain and molasses.


	2. Ch 1: Masquerade

Rating: R  
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "Masquerade" is from the musical The Phantom of the Opera, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**Taboo**

**Ch. 1: Masquerade**

* * *

The ballroom of the Domino Marriott Bayview was decorated in black and white, red and glittering silver, colors befitting the theme "Masquerade" from "The Phantom of the Opera." Tables topped with vases of red roses and papier-mache masks and lit with dozens of white candles surrounded a large dance floor upon which hundreds of gaily dressed teens danced the night away. The packed dance floor was where Kouya and Yamato had disappeared to shortly after their arrival, which was just fine with Mokuba and Noa since their intention had simply been getting the girls into prom, not to necessarily hang out with them. But for the sake of appearance, as well as the friendship they had developed over the last few months, the girls insisted that the brothers join them and their friends out on the dance floor from time to time, while respecting the fact that Mokuba and Noa wanted some time alone.

Mokuba was glad that they had befriended the pair of seniors, and was enjoying his prom experience about as much as could be expected. It was a little campy compared to the types of extravaganzas he'd seen thrown for Kaiba Corp., the decorations a little too cutesy and the attendees stiff, unused to tuxedos and ball gowns, but it was fun getting to act like a normal teen for once. Well, as normal as he could be. Not that Seto would care that he was bi and Noa gay, but it was his choice of boyfriend – and oh, how odd that word sounded in his mind still! – that would cause a stir. If things had been different, Mokuba could have seen himself going for a girl like Yamato. He liked her spunk and self-assurance, and she was pretty in a very natural way. Not that Kouya would have been a bad choice either… she was intelligent and pleasant to talk to, and just as pretty as her girlfriend. But… he had Noa now, so none of that really mattered.

Mokuba really didn't remember exactly how or when he and Noa decided to step up their relationship from being merely brothers to being something more. He knew had felt the stirrings of interest all the way back during their Battle City detour despite the fact that Noa had been their "foe" back then. Despite the fact that Noa had turned him against Seto. He should have hated him for that, hated him and never forgiven him, but… he had seen something in him that the others hadn't, something that he couldn't quite explain. So he had grabbed the portable hard drive that Noa had been backed up on almost out of instinct before they had fled, not realizing what a difference it would make nearly a year later when Shadi had mysteriously reappeared to collect the Sennen items, leaving behind only the Puzzle and an equally mysterious surprise of his own. The drive, which Mokuba habitually carried around in his bag, had somehow been affected by the same spell that had gifted Yami with his own body, and suddenly the possibility of something going somewhere with Noa became just as real as the form he had taken.

It was a little worrisome though. He had braced for a fight between Seto and Noa after Shadi had disappeared, but it hadn't happened. And that struck Mokuba as odd. But maybe Seto's view of Noa had softened a little when they found out that Noa's mother had committed suicide years earlier, leaving him an orphaned child. Well, he legally was a child since they had "corrected" his birth certificate. But regardless, Seto had accepted Noa into their home with surprisingly little argument, as if he had always been part of their family, and he didn't comment when Noa began referring to him as "Nii-sama" though they all knew that Noa should have been older than Seto. But the time Noa had spent alone in the virtual world had stunted his emotional and psychological growth, essentially locking him into the mindset of a pre-teen for all those years, so in the end, they figured he really was only about as old as he looked.

Seto's silent acceptance of Noa was only half the equation, for in return the green-haired teen made no fuss over the way Seto ran Kaiba Corp. and further more, didn't ask to be involved in any part of it. So had they really forgiven each other then? Mokuba was pretty certain that Noa was okay with Seto, that he was genuine in his acceptance of Seto as his big brother, and that's why he let him do things like set curfew and enroll him in school even though he probably needed it as little as Seto did. But Seto… Mokuba wanted to think that everything was okay, but… well, he had to be realistic. And that's why he couldn't decide how or when or even IF he ought to tell Seto anything.

Of course, the biggest hurdle had to be the brother thing. True, they weren't actually brothers by blood, but he knew that a relationship of this sort would seem immoral to the rest of the world because their relationship would always include the term "brother." Honestly, that was as much as Mokuba thought he'd be able get from Noa, and he had tried to tell himself that that would be enough… but it wasn't. It just felt right for them to be together. Even so, he had never thought that he ought to act on that because it would cause to many problems, because it would upset Seto which was NOT acceptable, and yet… there they were. At prom. Living a lie.

* * *

Noa frowned as Mokuba silently fretted over things, concerned that the smile that had been present earlier had fallen from his brother's face and replaced by a frown and blank eyes. He had to be worrying about Seto again. It was becoming a bigger concern of theirs with each passing day. Noa thought perhaps they should step outside and give Seto a call and just resolve it once and for all, because it was driving him crazy, but Mokuba had begged, "Not today," and so Noa just kept his mouth shut and instead offered to get refills on their glasses of punch.

While the lady attending the refreshments table filled his glasses, someone tapped his shoulder from behind. He turned to see Shizuka standing behind him, Honda in tow. She was resplendent in a strapless ball gown in pink and coral taffeta, and he fidgeted in his simple tux with pink bow tie and cummerbund, but they still made a nice couple despite his discomfort. Noa almost expected to see Otogi as well, though he quickly realized that she wouldn't have taken both her suitors to prom and had probably gone with the first one who had asked her.

"Hi!" Shizuka chirped, beaming at the green-haired teen. "Having a good time?"

Noa nodded at both of his friends. "Yeah..."

"Yeah, I bet you are with that girlfriend of yours," Honda said, nudging Noa with his elbow. "She's kinda cute… not like Shizuka of course, but you know…"

Noa fought the urge to roll his eyes at the way Honda babbled on, clumsily trying to compliment both their dates in one go. It didn't matter anyway, because Shizuka wasn't one of those "stupid jealous" types, and Yamato wasn't his girl…

Shizuka put a hand on her date's arm, finally silencing him after nearly a minute's worth of prattling, and gave Noa an understanding look. "So where's Mokuba? Is he out on the dance floor?" She craned her neck a little in that general direction.

"No, he's… we're just taking a break." God, it would suck if either one of them started suspecting anything.

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to say hi to him."

Considering that it would seem odd to deny her the right to see him, Noa cocked his head in agreement and lead the pair back to their table. Mokuba looked up at them blankly as they approached, not recognizing Shizuka and Honda for a moment, but then he smiled and rose to his feet to wave at them.

Shizuka waved back. "Hi Mokuba!"

"Hey kid. Your girlfriend still out on the dance floor?" Honda asked.

"No, but I am right behind you," came an amused female voice, and the group turned to see Yamato and Kouya walking towards them. The girls glittered in gowns that complimented one another, all black and silver. Yamato had chosen a black chiffon sheath with spaghetti straps and a high slit over one thigh that was decorated with swags of silver beading, and Kouya wore a strapless satin and organza ball gown with a similar silver swag pattern, though hers were a touch more delicate in execution.

Honda laughed in embarrassment while Shizuka complimented the girls on their dresses. They weren't friends, merely acquaintances who had had a class or two together, but when it came to something like prom, girls always had a lot to say to each other.

"I love how all four of you match," the redhead gushed, taking a seat beside Mokuba. "The black and silver theme is great; matches the prom colors."

"Thank you. And I love your gown, Shizuka. It's a very nice color for you," Kouya responded.

"Oh, thanks! I shouldn't have made Hiroto wear pink accessories to match though. It looks kinda wrong on him. He's not a pink sort of guy."

"Meh. What does that matter?" Yamato asked, laughing brightly as she plucked a rose out of the centerpiece. "He doesn't seem to mind."

"Nope, not at all!" Honda said, joining in on the conversation. Then he leaned over the table as if he had a big secret to share. "So, what are you guys doing after this?"

Kouya and Yamato exchanged glances, as did Mokuba and Noa, and then Yamato winked and said, "Why, you want to join in?"

The brunette instantly reddened.

"Yamato, shut up," Mokuba mumbled under his breath.

The implication must've flown over Shizuka's head because she answered, "We were going to go bowling with Ryuuji. Want to come?"

Noa wondered at what that meant though he didn't say anything about it. Hey, if Jou's sweet little sis wanted to play both guys, it made no difference to him.

Yamato opened to her mouth to reply but Kouya beat her to the punch, which was probably a very good thing. "No thank you, we were planning to drive along the beach for a little bit, and then head home after that."

"Ah, I see." Honda took a quick glance at his watch, then lightly touched Shizuka's arm. "Actually, we better get going. Otogi's supposed to meet us at the bowling alley in twenty minutes, and it looks like they're finally starting to let people leave." He stood up and gave a shallow bow to the occupants of the table, then snagged a rose out of the vase himself. "Have a great evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said, presenting the flower to his date before they strolled away.

"Oh, we will," Yamato called out, waving goodbye with one hand as she slid the other under the table to intertwine her fingers with her girlfriend's.

* * *

Kouya hadn't exactly been lying when she had mentioned the drive along the beach. What she had left out was the step after driving and before heading home.

The limo was currently parked in the dimly lit parking lot in front of the harbor along with an assortment of other vehicles: more limos, sedans borrowed from parents, even a classic car rented for the evening. And in each one teens were engaged in various after prom activities. The quartet in the black limo with the plates reading KAIBA1 weren't doing anything really bad however, just taking the opportunity to kiss and snuggle a little before it was time to go home.

* * *

Seto nipped at Yami's lower lip as his lover pressed him further into the leather upholstery of the Mercedes S550 sedan. They were hopelessly tangled together, Seto on his back upon the rear seats, his long legs tucked up alongside Yami's body, his jacket half off and his shirt already unbuttoned. Yami was still dressed as Seto had his hands full of firm ass, his fingers alternating between squeezing and stroking while Yami's fingers traced the bulge beneath the straining fabric of Seto's trousers. God, it felt so good, and they hadn't even gotten down to business yet.

The former Pharaoh had set up a perfect evening. Dinner took place at Orange Hill out on the same patio that they had their first date on, then they went for a stroll around the harbor which culminating in a private slow dance in the corner of a nearly empty plaza nearby, the soft music floating out from speakers hidden in the hardscaping around them. And then they headed back to the car where Yami proceeded to shove Seto down onto the backseat to have his way with him.

Head swimming with the promise of pleasure, Seto undid Yami's pants, then slipped one hand down the back of Yami's trousers and was rewarded with a rumbling purr as his fingertips traced tiny circles over the warm skin. He went to slide his other hand in as well but a sudden sharp tapping sound stopped him. _Did you just hear something?_

Yami stilled his hands and lifted his head slightly. He was about to say that he hadn't heard anything, but sure enough, it happened again. _Someone's… at the window?_

Seto grumbled something about "better not be some fucking photographer" and pulled his jacket back on, resorting to holding it closed with one hand as the tapping grew more insistent. Yami shifted over to one side in an awkward crouch as Seto opened the door a crack, growling, "What do you wa…"

The cop standing outside quickly swept the inside of the car with his flashlight, a peevish expression on his face. "I don't care if it's prom, you kids can't be out here doing this sort of thing. There's laws against public indecency you know. Do you want me to call your mom and dad and let them know what you're up to out here and to come get you out of jail?"

Yami didn't have to be mind linked to Seto to know that he was fuming at the implication that he had to answer to "mom and dad." So in the interest of keeping things civil, he quickly said, "Sorry, we didn't mean to get carried away. Please don't call our parents."

Seto just turned and gave his boyfriend the most incredulous look. _You're shitting me…_

"Please." Yami couldn't quite bring himself to beg, but he did adopt a believably innocent look… believable if you didn't know him. _At least he doesn't recognize us._

Well, Seto couldn't argue with that point.

The cop paused dramatically as if he were still considering taking them in, though it was obvious by that point that he was just doing rounds. Then he finally said, "Okay, I'll let you boys go with a warning this time, but I better not catch you out here again!"

"You won't. Thank you," Yami said sincerely.

The man grunted at them, not really buying the crimson-eyed teen's statement but not in the mood to waste anymore time on the pair since there were plenty of other cars to check in on.

As the cop walked away, Seto straightened up his jacket a little and told his lover, _Well… I guess that's that._

_Looks like. _But Yami winked at him anyway. _Guess "missing out" on prom really wasn't a big deal after all, huh?_

Seto smiled slightly as he went to open the driver's side door. _I don't think I missed out on anything._

The shorter duelist chuckled. Perhaps the evening wasn't really anything out of the ordinary for them, but at least he had taken Seto's mind off what Noa and Mokuba were doing that night… at least for the most part. But he understood and respected that, for Seto wouldn't be Seto if he didn't keep his brothers first and foremost in his thoughts.

Then suddenly, Yami felt a twinge of unease from his lover. "Isn't that…?" The brunette's voice hitched and trailed off in uncertainty.

"Seto?"

"That's my limo…" Seto finally said, staring at the sleek black automobile parked behind a little Honda Civic. It couldn't, no… _shouldn't_ be, but there was no denying it since the license plate identified it as his vehicle. What was it doing there? Prom wasn't over yet… was it? They couldn't possibly…

The cop that had talked to them just a minute ago was giving his spiel to the occupants of the compact, and would probably head for the limo next. Seto didn't even think… his long legs began carrying him to the limousine at a rapid pace. Alarmed, Yami was quick to follow as Seto reached the limo and flung open the door, and inside…

… Inside was a scene that neither one had expected to see. Mokuba and Noa… wide-eyed and startled, their arms still around each other, their lips still moist from the kiss they had been engaged in when Seto had opened the door.

Shock, anger, hurt, betrayal… they all flashed in the depths of the young CEO's eyes for the briefest of moments, and then his face went blank. Without even turning to look at Kouya and Yamato huddled over by the privacy partition, he coldly said, "The driver will take you two home. Noa, Mokuba… out, _now_."

"Nii-s…"

"Now, Mokuba." Seto's voice was deceptively calm, like the eye of the storm. But inside he was just a churning mess of confusion and rage. What the HELL were they doing? And how long had it been going on? Why didn't he know? Why didn't he see it? He barely registered his brothers shamefully creeping out of the limo, neither one able to meet his eyes as he struggled to keep from losing his temper right there in the middle of the parking lot.

Yami was worried. His lover was ushering the younger teens to the sedan, Noa in the front passenger's seat, Mokuba in the back. To those that didn't know him, it wasn't obvious that something was troubling Seto. The cop hadn't walked over, choosing to bypass the limo after seeing the two of them standing beside it. But Yami knew better, and he could feel his body trembling in response to the force of Seto's emotions as if it were being lashed by gale force winds. _… Seto…_

Silence for a moment, and then finally a response that was barely a whisper. _Can you drive?_

_Sure._ Yami slid into the driver's seat and took his time adjusting the seat and mirrors so that he could glance at the other silent occupants of the car. Noa sat stone-faced beside him, eyes fixed straight ahead. In the back, Mokuba was slumped over, his hair hanging down over his face, and next to him, Seto started out the window, his face pale and hands clenched. He didn't look up to acknowledge his boyfriend even though he knew Yami was watching him with concern.

God, it was going to be a long drive home…

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:   
- Yup, deal with it – Noa was backed up on some hard drive. Hey, he had to come from somewhere… But this (I swear) is as close to an explanation as to how Yami and Noa popped into my ficverse, and why Noa ended up moving in with Seto and Mokie, etc.  
- I realized after the fact that I should have put in a shojo-ai warning. But the girls didn't do anything more than hold hands, and people who read shonen-ai should be tolerant of the flip side of the coin I figure, so :p  
- Shizuka's prom dress is "Sunrise" by Loralie and Yamato and Kouya's are by Joli.


	3. Ch 2: Noah Down the Stairs

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "Noah Down the Stairs" is from the musical Caroline, or Change, by Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

**

* * *

Taboo**

**Ch. 2: Noah Down the Stairs**

* * *

The silence was unnerving. Yami tried to concentrate on the hum of the engine and the clamminess of his hands on the leather steering wheel, anything to distract him from Seto's simmering anger, but it was damn hard to ignore when it was slamming into him like storm tousled waves. He couldn't say he was THAT surprised to find Noa and Mokuba in each other's arms, but… that wasn't how they should've found out.

It was tough. Yami really had no problem with the two younger teens hooking up as it were, for as unconventional a relationship as it was and as unacceptable as it would be in the general public's perception, he wasn't shocked to learn that Mokuba had gravitated towards someone who was rather like Seto. Whether or not Mokuba or Seto or Noa understood that… that was another thing.

But one thing at a time. Yami could feel Seto trying to think of what to do now that he knew, though his thoughts kept wandering over what could've happened already and why Mokuba of all people had deceived him. Seto was hurting, but he had never done well in dealing with that sort of emotion. Cold detachment was his preferred mask, and that failing, then anger. After all, the last time the young CEO had really gotten hurt and upset… things had been very, very bad. Of course it all worked out in the end, but for three agonizingly hellish weeks, Seto had tried to cut Yami out of his life completely, and had been ruthless about it, not only hurting Yami emotionally in the process, but himself as well. And Yami didn't want the same thing to happen again.

The former Pharaoh sighed a little, the sound seemingly amplified in the dead silence of the car. No one commented. Yami thought he heard Noa shift uncomfortably in his seat, but that was it. And that's how quiet it remained throughout the rest of the drive back to the mansion.

* * *

The quartet shuffled into the house and up the stairs without a single word being uttered. But when they finally reached the top of the stairs, Seto took a deep breath and turned to his brothers, his eyes dark and unreadable. So many unanswered questions and half-thoughts bombarded the brunette's mind, he barely knew where to begin. What were the two younger teens thinking? What was really going on? Had they just been messing around, like on a dare or something, or… no, that wasn't it. So the girls were just a ruse then, a way for them to sneak out of the house and away from watchful eyes. How long had this… "relationship" been going on, and why had they hidden the truth from him? Why had _Mokuba_ hidden the truth from him…?

He should have known earlier, he supposed. It was his own fault for not picking up on the clues that were there. Like Noa and Mokuba sleeping in the same bed, which was something he had seen on more than one occasion… why had he thought that was normal? He should have realized something was wrong and should have stepped in earlier, but everything had seemed… perfect. And that in and of itself should have clued him in. Life would never be so perfect. But somewhere between his steady workload and his relationship with Yami, he had been lulled into thinking that everything was fine and wonderful and now he realized what a lie it all was. He should have known better.

So was Noa trying to manipulate Mokuba for some reason? Was he doing it to get back at Seto, or to gain some sort of foothold in Kaiba Corp., or perhaps even because of some genuine, though misguided, interest? Seto couldn't say. But if this was all some sort of game, the young CEO wasn't interested in playing.

Part of him was tempted to just kick Noa to the curb; it would be the easy thing to do, and Noa had brought it upon himself, _but…_ that didn't sit well with Seto. If Mokuba had been harmed in any way that would have been his instant and justifiable reaction, but other than an uncertain wariness and no small amount of shame at being caught in a rather scandalous position, Mokuba did seem all right. No… he couldn't just kick Noa out because that would upset Mokuba, and… despite what had happened, Seto had accepted the role as caretaker for the green-haired teen, and he wasn't the type of man who took his responsibilities lightly, especially since he was uncertain of where the blame lay. And really, Seto knew he had to take responsibility himself for being blind to what had been going on behind his back, for ultimately, it was his duty as a big brother to look out for both Noa and Mokuba's welfare. He knew he was busy at work, and what free time he had at home was mostly been spent with Yami, so perhaps he hadn't been focusing enough on Mokuba. Perhaps he should have kept a closer eye on Noa. Perhaps he needed to reevaluate how he and Yami conducted themselves in the presence of his impressionable younger brothers. They _did_ get a bit crazy sometimes, and Yami could be rather loud…

God, he could feel a monster migraine flaring up. Seto needed more time to think up a long-term solution, but for now… he had to find a quick fix for the problems their current sleeping arrangement might cause, as it was getting rather late. Mokuba and Noa had been sharing a bedroom ever since Noa moved in, and now Seto could no longer allow that to happen. The problem of course wasn't that there was a shortage of bedrooms in the mansion, but rather that putting them in separate rooms might still not be enough. He wanted to say that he'd believe Mokuba if he swore not to sneak out of his room late at night, but as far as Noa… well, he really didn't know what to think at the moment. And he wasn't willing to chance it.

As he continued to ponder his options, the brunette was startled to realize that his lover's mental voice was floating through his mind, trying to get his attention. For a moment, Seto felt himself being lulled by the familiar presence, but then he suddenly realized the effect Yami was having on him and he nearly reacted with a mental shove, only catching himself at the last moment. He really didn't want Yami trying to comfort him or to influence the decisions he had to make; the ex-spirit would probably insist that he was overanalyzing things and would want him to sleep on any decision he might make.

_Baby, please… say something. I know you can hear me,_ Yami whispered, his tone gentle and coaxing. That just made Seto mad.

_Didn't you always say that you'd respect my privacy?_ the taller duelist snapped defensively, sounding a bit more harsh than intended.

_I…_ Yami frowned. _I wasn't trying to intrude; you know I wouldn't do that._

_Hn. _Seto wasn't sure why he had reacted like that. Of course he knew Yami wasn't trying to pry. He was just trying to make things better. He did that type of crap all the time. Seto tried to think of a suitable apology when Yami spoke up again.

_I'm sure it's hard to make heads or tails out of all this right now. And we're all tired. I know it probably is a bit much to expect you to sleep on any decisions you might want to make, but… well, I just don't want you to do anything rash…_

_If this was Yugi… and somebody, I wouldn't tell you to "not do anything rash!" Hell, I'd expect you to act first, and consequences be damned! So don't fucking tell me…_

Yami's frown deepened. _Seto… But the boys…_

Seto held his hand up, marking an end to that conversation, then fixed his gaze on the silent pair who stood before him, neither one willing to look him in the eye. Right, first and foremost, a temporary solution for the evening. Though it wasn't a school night, it was still important that his brothers get their rest, and in order to do so, he had to come to some decision about where to put them. Mokuba could move into his room for the evening, but it'd be a bit awkward with Yami there as well, so what to do with Yami? Or he could move into Mokuba's room and then… no. Noa in a guest room and Mokuba remaining in his bedroom? That ought to work as long as they each stayed where he assigned them. Which meant…

Finally settling on what he wanted to say, Seto stated in as calm of a voice as he could manage, "Noa, go grab whatever you need for the night. You're moving downstairs for tonight and you are to _stay there_. Mokuba, you're to stay in your room." He made sure to leave no room for argument or discussion, though from the look on Noa's face, he was itching to make a retort anyway. But the stricken look that flickered across Mokuba's face stopped him.

It wasn't that Mokuba agreed with Seto, but rather that he knew that even if they simply wanted to clear things up, now was not the time to do it. It was bad enough that they had already been busted, caught in the act... that they had been deceiving Seto through omission. He wasn't going to make things worse by adding fuel to the wildfire that was Seto's hot temper. While it was better to talk to Seto before he started justifying his overblown assumptions to himself, jumping into an argument while he was just begging for a fight was never a good idea.

After some quick consideration, Noa figured out the general gist of what Mokuba was trying to do. He wanted to get things resolved as well of course, but it would have to wait. So without a word of protest, he headed off to grab his pajamas and toothbrush and a change of clothes, taking only a minute before he came back out and headed down the stairs. Worried and yet somewhat relieved, Mokuba watched him go with huge eyes, and then with a final sheepish glance at Seto, he turned and walked into to his bedroom alone, shutting the door softly behind himself.

Yami sighed and looked over at his lover, but before he could say a word Seto shook his head and said, "I don't want to hear it, Yami."

The former Pharaoh started. "I wasn't going to…"

Seto just turned and walked off. Concerned, Yami trailed him until they were back in their room, then watched in silent bewilderment as Seto went into the bathroom to take a shower, locking the door behind himself. With nothing better to do, Yami sat down in a chair and waited for his boyfriend to reemerge. He told himself to not take Seto's brush off too hard, but he couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by it.

After the very fast shower, Seto emerged in his robe and pajama pants and headed into the closet to fetch a sleeping bag from the back corner. The thing hadn't been used the entire time Yami had been living at the mansion, though from what Mokuba had told him, Seto had been known to crash in his office at Kaiba Corp. when he was younger and overloaded with projects.

"I'm sleeping in the hallway tonight to make sure there's no room hopping," Seto stated decisively upon seeing the confusion in Yami's eyes.

"Oh. All right, I suppose we can do that." Though come to think of it, they'd be awfully squished with just one sleeping bag…

"Not _we._ Me." The brunette began heading back out into the hallway with the bedroll tucked in his arms.

Yami quickly caught up to him once again, just outside of Mokuba's bedroom door. "Seto, I don't mind sharing the sleeping bag with you. So it's a bit small; we'll make do."

Seto snarled softly. He knew exactly what Yami was trying to imply, and he certainly wasn't in the mood for it. "Don't you get it? We can't keep doing this… this… We're setting a crappy example for Noa and Mokuba!"

Yami's brow wrinkled. "Huh?" Was Seto trying to imply that Yami only wanted to sleep with him to, well… _sleep_ with him? Sex hadn't come into consideration at all; Yami just figured that Seto could use a hug, a sympathetic ear, and a good night's sleep. "I wasn't trying to say that we should have sex tonight. I just want to make sure you get some rest, that's all."

Seto didn't think he would be able to sleep a wink regardless if Yami helped him out or not, but he wasn't going to mention that since it would just get Yami on his case some more. And he really didn't want to waste his energy on trying to deal with both his lover and brothers at the same time. As much as Seto cared for Yami and as much as he enjoyed spending "quality" time with him, he knew where his priorities should have been, and how badly he had messed up.

So the first thing Seto needed to do was to convince Yami to stay in their bedroom for the evening. But he wasn't able to think of anything good. All he could come up with was, "I'd feel better if you stayed in the bedroom, Yami. I don't want you sleeping on the floor."

Yami's eyes narrowed at the lame excuse. "And I'd feel better if you weren't sleeping on the floor either. Not that you plan on sleeping."

A shrug was the only response Seto gave. What could he do? He couldn't deny Yami's accusations since his boyfriend was right, but at the same time, he didn't want to escalate it into an argument. But he hated upsetting Yami; his head throbbed even more in protest at the disappointment in Yami's voice.

The former Pharaoh must have felt the effect the brewing argument was having on Seto, for his irritation dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared, his eyes softening in concern instead. "All right Seto, I won't make an issue out of this. If you insist, I'll go back to the bedroom."

Seto rubbed at his forehead, then nodded. Yes, it would be for the best. He couldn't deal with all this at once. He felt awful for how he was treating Yami, but he had to remember, Mokuba first. Always. But still… "Wait, Yami," he called out just as his lover turned to walk away, his shoulders slightly stooped in dejection.

Crimson eyes flickered up to gaze into blue ones. "Hm?"

Seto took the opportunity to plant a quick kiss on Yami's forehead, and to brush his fingertips down Yami's cheek. "Good night," he whispered, afraid to say anything more, suddenly depressed at the realization that that might be all he'd get out of Yami for the foreseeable future.

Yami fought off a sigh, choosing instead to rest his head against Seto's chest for just a moment in a quick hug, letting his body have the final say before he padded away to try and sleep alone in a bed that suddenly seemed too big and empty for him.

* * *

The two older members of the household weren't the only ones finding it difficult to get restful sleep that night. Mokuba wasn't even trying. He was worried about both Noa and Seto, and he really missed having Noa in the room with him. It wasn't just a physical thing either; they usually talked a lot at night until they both fell asleep, and in the rare instances where he'd been the last one up, he found comfort in the sound of Noa's breathing as well as in the warmth of his body. Now it was colder than it had been in a long time, or so it seemed… and far too quiet. That's why when Mokuba thought he had heard something right outside his door, he crept over to find out what it was.

Part of him really hoped it was Noa. But the rational side of him knew that it couldn't be. The green-haired teen was no fool, and he wasn't going to try doing something dumb like sneaking back upstairs when Seto had specifically ordered him not to, especially considering the heap of trouble they were already in.

No, from the sounds of it… from the words being exchanged, Seto was planning to sleep in the hallway, and Yami wasn't happy about it. But Seto must've won the fight, because Mokuba could hear a single pair of footsteps walking away, and then the soft rustling of a sleeping bag being unrolled right outside his door.

Mokuba felt awful. Not only were he and Noa both in trouble… but now Seto was turning himself into a physical barricade at his door? And telling Yami that he didn't want to have sex or something? That was a huge deal. Didn't they have sex all the time all over the place? Seto had said something about setting a crappy example for him and Noa…

_Please don't tell me that he thinks that… oh no!_

Things had been unbearably bad when Seto had gotten it in his head that he had to break up with Yami in order to save his life. He had thought that his heart was worth sacrificing to protect Yami… that Yami's life mattered more than their relationship, more than the deep bond that joined their souls together. And it had taken quite a lot of yelling and talking and a great deal of patience and love to make Seto understand that he wasn't cursed, that he didn't need to go on alone, that there was more to living than mere existence.

Mokube sincerely hoped that Seto would never do anything that drastic again, but he knew that his big brother had sworn to do whatever it took to "protect" him, regardless if he needed or wanted that protection. But how far would he really go in order to make sure that Mokuba was "safe?" Surely he wouldn't let his concern for Mokuba affect his relationship with Yami - the one thing that he had ever wanted for himself, the one thing that truly made him happy - would he?

The black-haired teen dreaded finding out what the answer to that question would be, but deep down… he already knew.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:  
- Re: chapter title. I couldn't resist using a song title from "Caroline, or Change" even if I spell Noa differently. Just too much of a coincidence for me to pass up.  
- This was a rather quirky chapter to write. My initial thoughts were, "Well, Seto would get angry, blow up, kick Noa out, etc." But after hearing what various people on KnY and PP chat thought, and also trying to remove my own personal point-of-view from this situation, I took a different approach and let Seto's concern for Mokuba supercede his anger. How this will affect the story from this point on, I don't know, but it'll be interesting I'm sure.  
- All the stuff about Seto trying to break up with Yami to protect him is from my fic "Aftershocks," which is far too complicated for me to summarize, so go read it if you want to know what happened previously.


	4. Ch 3: If Prayin' Were Horses

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "If Prayin' Were Horses" is from the musical The Civil War, by Jack Murphy and Frank Wildhorn. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**Taboo**

**Ch. 3: If Prayin' Were Horses**

* * *

Yami had a vague, dream-like memory of being kissed on the cheek and having his hair stroked, but when he finally awoke, he was in bed… alone. But at least the slip of paper on the bedside table confirmed that those ghostly sensations were not part of some dream. The neatly written note read simply:

_I'm taking Mokuba to work with me today. I'll see you later. _

_- Seto_

A slight smile creased the ex-spirit's features, and he felt his mood lighten somewhat. No "I love you" was necessary, for as terse as Seto's message was, just the fact that he saw fit to leave it meant more than the words themselves. And although Yami didn't need Seto to confirm what he already understood, it felt good to know that Seto cared despite his mind being on others matters.

Still… he hoped that things would be resolved soon between Seto and Noa, and more importantly, between Seto and Mokuba. It had to have hurt Seto deeply to have Mokuba withhold the truth from him about his relationship with Noa, as if he hadn't trusted him enough to share that information. Not to say that Seto would have simply accepted it if he had been told the truth from the beginning, but at least he wouldn't have had to deal with Mokuba's apparent distrust on top of everything else.

"What a mess," he murmured to himself, scratching sleep-tousled hair, wondering where things would go from there. He supposed he ought to take the opportunity to talk to Noa and get his side of the story while hopefully Mokuba and Seto started working things out on their end. Yami certainly didn't want the previous night's sleeping arrangement to become permanent; he hated sleeping alone. And even more importantly, he hated the thought of what this entire… _fight_ was doing to his "family," how this had to be affecting the two younger teens' relationship with each other, and their relationship with Seto in turn. Most of all, Yami worried about how this affected Seto, who behind his stony exterior was far more emotionally sensitive than the world realized. After all, it wasn't that long ago that Seto had blamed himself for Yami being injured in an earthquake, and the short duelist definitely didn't want a repeat of that. Seto had beaten himself up so badly over it: not sleeping, not eating, isolating himself… it still made Yami's heart ache to think of how cruelly Seto had punished himself for something that he had no control over, and how much worse…

Yami shook his head, trying to derail his current train of thought. _Think optimistically… it's going to work out one way or another,_ he chided himself. But he wasn't sure if he believed that even as he repeated it to himself. He glanced at the note on the nightstand again, picking it up to lightly trace his fingertips over the short message. Maybe, _hopefully…_ by that evening, things would be back to normal…

Yeah, right. Who was he kidding?

* * *

Uncertain of how to broach the subject, Mokuba had stayed silent during the entire drive over to Kaiba Corp. He knew why Seto had woken him up with orders to accompany him for the day; he wanted to keep him away from Noa while he tried to figure things out. The danger in that was that while Seto's logic was near flawless in a business environment, it often wandered down some bizarre pathways when it came to personal matters, and Mokuba didn't want his big brother jumping to some strange conclusion without him ever getting a chance to explain himself. But… what could he say that wouldn't sound like a betrayal? He had deceived Seto. Noa had deceived Seto. And Seto ended up sleeping in the hallway because even if they had promised to not do _anything_, he apparently didn't know if he could trust their word anymore. And that put a knot in Mokuba's throat. So should he put it all out on the table then? Or would that only make things worse?

_Actually, things can't get worse, can they?_ the black-haired teen reasoned to himself. Well, of course they could, but Seto had shown a lot of restraint in not throttling Noa in a fit of rage right there in the parking lot, so at least it appeared that they'd all survive the incident with their hides intact. But in a way that worried Mokuba even more. Given how well he knew his brother, he could almost understand it if Seto had just lashed out in anger, but he hadn't. Which meant that whatever hurt he felt was being all bottled up inside and probably feeding his twisted logic, which could end up pushing him into making a decision that he'd most likely regret.

There really wasn't any time to waste on self pity, thought Mokuba couldn't help it. Yes, he knew that he should have come clean with Seto. He felt horrible for not telling him the truth earlier. But he hadn't known what to say, how to explain how he felt about Noa.

It occurred to Mokuba in the midst of all these thoughts that he had probably hurt Noa as well by not wanting to tell Seto the truth earlier. Noa had wanted to get things out in the open, but Mokuba never felt ready and had made lame excuses one after another, trying to delay the inevitable. In forcing Noa to be his co-conspirator, in making him hide their relationship as if he were ashamed of it… what did that say about how important Noa was to him? Didn't both of his brothers deserve better than that?

Disappointed with himself, Mokuba glanced up from the pile of homework he was supposed to be working on and cautiously studied his older brother as he sat silently at his desk, staring at his computer with his brow wrinkled in concentration, as if he were reading the world's longest email. Mokuba bet if there was actually an email open, Seto had already reread the same line a dozen times.

He desperately wanted to talk to Seto, but once again… he failed to find the words he needed to start the conversation. So they both continued to pretend to work in silence.

* * *

When Yami finally wandered down for a late breakfast, he found Noa in the family room slouched on a sofa flipping through various TV programs. The green-haired teen grunted a greeting in response to Yami's carefully neutral "Good morning" but didn't bother looking over at the former Pharaoh, instead focusing his attention on the mindless jiggling of the dancers in the music video that was currently playing on the channel he had stopped at.

Yami pursued his lips. Obviously Noa wasn't in the mood to talk, probably figuring that anything that he said would instantly get relayed back to Seto. But Yami had no intention of doing that. He wasn't some sort of spy, and Seto wouldn't want him acting in that capacity anyway, but perhaps that could explain why Noa was a bit reluctant to talk to him.

_No point in guessing when I have him sitting right there in front of me, _Yami figured, pushing aside thoughts of breakfast as he went to perch himself on the arm of the sofa Noa was seated on. After a long minute passed, Yami dove in with a soft, "So, did you sleep alright last night?"

Noa stared at the television for a moment longer until a commercial came on, then finally sighed and gave in, seeing that he wasn't going to deter Yami so easily. He couldn't help but wonder if Seto had left Yami with instructions to keep an eye on him, or maybe to pump him for information. But all right, he was game. Turning off the TV, he gave Yami an assessing look before responding. "I'm fine."

Yami cocked his head a little. "Really? I slept horribly."

"No sex, huh?" Noa blurted out reflexively, ducking his head in embarrassment as soon as the words were out.

"It's not about…" A slight blush crept over Yami's cheeks, but he figured if he wanted Noa to be truthful with him, he had to return the favor. "Well, that's part of it," he murmured. "But mostly… I just missed having Seto there beside me."

The younger teen thought about it, then nodded in agreement. "I missed Mokuba too, even his snoring," he divulged after some hesitation. He wasn't exactly sure of what Yami thought of their relationship, but he didn't _seem_ mad… In a sudden rush, he threw in, "We really haven't been doing anything, you know? Not like you and Seto I mean."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Noa just nodded, not sure of what else to say. What he really wanted to do was just throw everything at Yami and see how he would judge him, to find out whether he was friend or foe. He would have done so, but he didn't know exactly how much of the conversation was being shared with Seto, and he didn't want Mokuba stuck answering questions that he had brought up. And poor Mokuba… he was probably getting grilled by Seto that very minute. Noa wished he could be there to lend his support at least, but he was stuck at home with Yami for the time being, so all he could do was grit his teeth and deal with it.

Yami grimaced as his younger companion lapsed back into silence. He was hopeful for a minute there that Noa would keep talking and maybe open up a bit more to him, for the more he understood the more able he'd be to find a resolution that would work for all of them, but Noa looked tense. Reserved, stiff… uncertain.

Well, if nothing else his relationship with Seto had taught him a few things about getting people to loosen up, which in turn made them more receptive to talking. And he saw no reason why Noa wouldn't respond to similar stimuli as well. So Yami hopped to his feet with aplomb and said, "I have an idea. I want to grab something to eat first, but after that, do you want to go riding with me?"

Noa began shaking his head, but then he reconsidered. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all. It certainly beat moping around and feeling like he was under house arrest or something. "Guess so."

Yami beamed, pleased with the answer, and Noa suddenly found himself questioning whether or not he had made the wisest choice given the circumstances. House arrest was starting to sound appealing now he had just agreed to face the inquisitor.

* * *

From his vantage point, Seto noticed that Mokuba was watching him every now and then, but since he wasn't choosing to start a conversation, Seto hadn't started one either since he was at a total loss of what to say. At least he found some comfort at his brother's attempts to peep at him from behind a book, because that assured him that Mokuba was still himself. As much as he hated to dwell on the past, he couldn't help but think back to when they were trapped in Noa's virtual world, and Mokuba had been turned against him. Never again did he want to see such a blank, lifeless look on his beloved little brother's face.

The email that he must have read a hundred times already seemed to go blurry for a moment, and Seto squinted and scowled, reflexively lifting a hand to rub at his temples. Damn stubborn headache! Why did he bother coming to work when he couldn't concentrate? For a moment he wished for Yami and a soothing massage, which always helped to get some of the tension out of his muscles, but then he chided himself for thinking about Yami and his damn talented fingers when the LAST thing he ought to be longing for that moment was his lover. So even as miles away, Yami started to respond to his need, his concern seeping into their link… Seto held his ground insistently until Yami backed off, leaving behind a trace of disappointment.

He felt bad for Yami, but in spite of what his boyfriend thought, it wasn't his problem to deal with. Noa and Mokuba were Seto's responsibility. Besides, Yami in a way was sorta part of the problem. He was always running around and getting Seto to try all sorts of bizarre sexual things, which really had to be giving the impressionable younger pair the wrong type of ideas. Most kids probably didn't have to see their parents having sex on _their_ beds, or running around naked on the stairs in nothing but a pair of bunny ears and a fluffy bunny tail butt plug, but then again… _I'm not his parent, I'm not Noa's parent. I'm their big brother, and I've fucking failed at it._

He still didn't know what to do about Yami. The crimson-eyed teen had promised to never leave his side again, and Seto knew that he'd stick to that no matter what. And that gave him a spark of hope at least, knowing that whatever decisions he made that Yami would continue to stand by him, for he couldn't bear to lose his boyfriend again. But that didn't necessarily mean that things could continue on merrily as they had before. He had to be more responsible, he had to remember his priorities!

Mokuba was looking at him again. Seto stared back a bit dazedly. The black-haired teen's mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, then just as quickly he shut his mouth and went back to his homework.

_I hope he's not expecting me to start the conversation, _Seto told himself, though by that point he wasn't sure if anything would ever get resolved at that rate. But what was he supposed to say anyway? "So, you and Noa are an item." "So, you and Noa have seen Yami and me in compromising positions a few too many times." "So, you're sleeping with your brother…" _HELL NO. That sounds awful, and do I really think that they're…_

Seto growled, earning him a startled look from Mokuba. Immediately the young CEO felt his chest tighten. Was Mokuba so scared of what he might do that that was why he hadn't told him about Noa? He couldn't really blame Mokuba for thinking that way… he knew he was infamous for his temper and his overreactions. But this was _Mokuba. _Of all the people on the planet, he was the one that shouldn't…

The brunette barely managed to hold in a shudder that seemed to ripple down the entire length of his spine. He was such a hypocrite for even thinking about being upset at Mokuba for betraying him when he was the one who drew first blood at Death-T. Mokuba had told him that he forgave him, that he could never hate him despite what he had done, but it was so devastating a treachery that Seto wondered how much of Mokuba's unconscious mind still feared him because of it. He really couldn't blame him for not trusting in him if that was the case, for he knew where the blame truly lay.

His eyes flickered to the magazine covers that graced the wall above the project table where Mokuba sat doing his homework. Yami had taken great pride in assembling the images, supposedly intending for them to be inspirational reminders of all that Seto had accomplished. But at the moment, all the tall duelist could think of was that it was like looking at a series of mug shots or wanted posters. Yes indeed, he knew where the blame lay.

* * *

Noa and Yami headed out to the stables and fetched their respective mounts. The six stall barn, a Christmas gift from Seto to Yami, had been finished very early in the spring and had been quickly filled with a quartet of carefully selected sportshorses, all of whom were named after dragons from an online fantasy game Mokuba and Noa had been playing. So there was a chestnut mare named Ysondre and a bay called Emeriss, and a pair of geldings, the black one being Ebonroc, and the gray, Azuregos. But although a horse had been purchased for each member of the household, Seto and Mokuba rarely rode despite receiving schooling from a private instructor, and usually only went along at Yami and Noa's urging. Not that they found it unpleasant, but they didn't have the sort of love for it that the other two had.

But it wasn't love of riding that drove Noa and Yami out of the mansion that day. Both of them wanted something to focus on other than their current problem, something that didn't make them think of Seto and Mokuba. And what better than the horses that the other two barely rode? So they brought out their tack and their respective horses and groomed them in companionable silence.

Noa was done first, swinging up onto Ysondre with practiced ease, working her in slow circles outside the entrance to the covered arena while Kuriboh trotted over briefly to see what was going on. The pony eyed Noa, looked around for Seto, then gave up and ran off again. Yami finished double-checking the girth on Ebonroc before following Noa's lead, and the two headed into the enclosure.

The gentle rocking motion of the horses' bodies and the steady beating of hooves on the packed arena floor quickly worked their magic on the pair of riders. Noa began relaxing into his seat and even took a few low jumps while Yami contented himself with maintaining a slow trot around the ring, glancing over at the younger teen every now and then, catching his gaze a few times. Noa seemed to be mulling over the possibility of riding over to talk, but couldn't make up his mind.

Knowing that there was nothing to be gained by continued silence, Yami waited until Noa rode by once more and told him in a low voice, "While Seto and I are linked at all times, that doesn't mean that we automatically know what the other is thinking. We always respect one another's privacy."

Noa risked glancing at Yami over his shoulder as he considered what was being said, then slowly began reining Ysondre in until Yami caught up. It wasn't so much the words themselves that convinced him, but more the sincerity of the tone and the bare honesty in Yami's eyes that did it. And he had to admit, he was curious as to where Yami stood, even though he noticed that the older teen hadn't promised that the information wouldn't end up getting back to Seto at a later time. But he was willing to take the risk.

"You don't…" Noa bit his lip, then continued. "Do you think it's weird? Or uh, wrong?" He couldn't help but wince at how odd that sounded.

"Weird?" Yami shrugged. "Depends on what you mean by that. If you're referring to the fact that you and Mokuba are 'brothers'…"

"But we're not! I mean, not really…" Flustered, Noa looked away. "I don't really think of him that way; maybe I did once, but… it's hard to explain." Seeing the confusion in Yami's eyes, he quickly added, "But I'm not using him, or manipulating him, or anything like that – this isn't a game to either one of us. I… I've wanted to be with Mokuba for a long time."

The crimson-eyed teen couldn't help but smile in relief. He had wanted to believe that whatever was going on between the two was mutual, that this wasn't some sort of repeat of their time in the virtual world, so it was good to hear confirmation of that.

Seeing that Yami seemed to be accepting his explanation so far, Noa asked again, "Do you think it's wrong for us to be together?" He held his breath as Yami stopped his horse to think the matter over. He wanted to tell himself it didn't matter what Yami's answer was since HE didn't think it was wrong, but it had been something that had bothered Mokuba, so he couldn't resist asking.

Yami pondered the question carefully. Was it wrong? Most people would probably say it was. But he didn't feel in his heart that it was wrong; it occurred to him that in his ancient past, incestuous relationships weren't exactly taboo, so perhaps that had a little to do with it. Or perhaps it was simply because there was something… _inevitable_ about it. In Yami's eyes, Mokuba and Noa seemed to fit together as flawlessly as he and Seto, so who was he to deny such a bond?

"I… don't think it's wrong; in fact, if this is what makes you and Mokuba happy, then great, I'm fine with that, but… it's not something that a lot of people would approve of I'm afraid."

"Like Seto," Noa retorted, unable to hide the slight bitterness that crept into his voice. He hadn't thought it would be so hard to sleep alone last night, but it had been, and he couldn't help but be a bit annoyed by it.

Yami caught what was left unsaid and frowned. "The two of you should have come out and told him. The deception is what is upsetting him most."

"I told Mokuba we ought to tell him, but he didn't want to!" Noa argued back. Ysondre danced beneath him, unhappy with the sudden outburst. He spared a moment to get her back under control, then he added, "I knew something like this would happen." _But what do I do now?_

"So what will you do now?"

Noa jerked his head up as Yami echoed his thoughts. He wished he had a suitable response, but if he had the answer, then there would no longer be a problem. And quite frankly, he wasn't sure if there really was anything that he could do to make things better, at least not while Seto was this upset. Part of him almost wanted to just shove the problem off onto Yami, but he had a feeling that in this case, even that would only go so far. And it wasn't Yami's deal anyhow. It wasn't even that Noa was afraid of facing Seto, because he assured himself that he wasn't, but… as always, his thoughts drifted back to Mokuba. And that's where his fears lay… he was afraid that Mokuba would have to answer for anything untoward he might say.

He spent so much time thinking about it that they ended up making another circuit around the arena, but he wasn't any closer to figuring out a solution. From the slightly worried look on Yami's face, the ex-spirit wasn't sure either. And Noa wondered, just how much of Yami's question had been directed at him?

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes: 

- Re: names of horses. With the exception of Kuriboh the pony, the other horses are all named after dragons from World of Warcraft, because I'm currently a WoW dork. And there will be more WoW references in the future I'm sure. Emeriss and Ysondre are green dragons, Azuregos a blue, Ebonroc, a black drake.  
- I can't say incest was commonly practiced in ancient Egypt since scholars still debate how texts and other evidence should be interpreted, but many seem to think that it did happen at least within the royal family to preserve the hierarchy, so I'm going with that assumption. Deal.  
- REVIEW. Seriously. Even if all you have to say is, "Thanks for writing," just do it. I'm not picky at all. But I figure that if I can sit down and write a fic, you can click the button and leave a comment, even if it's to complain that I waited a month between updates due to lack of inspiration, okies? Yah!


	5. Ch 4: We Didn’t Start the Fire

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "We Didn't Start the Fire" is from the musical Movin' Out, by Billy Joel. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**Taboo**

**Ch. 4: We Didn't Start the Fire**

* * *

Dinner that Saturday evening was a tense affair. No one was very hungry even though Yami had made a nice meal, and the usual sound of voices in animated conversation had been replaced by the occasional scraping of silverware on plates as food was pushed around. Seto didn't even try to eat despite Yami's whispered encouragement over their mind link; he just glared at his plate as if it had done something to offend him.

Eventually Noa and Mokuba gave up on pretending to eat. Noa went first, clearing his place at the table quickly before disappearing into what was now his room down in the guest wing. Mokuba followed suit a minute later, but when he went to leave, Seto suddenly looked at him oddly and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To my room," Mokuba replied slowly.

Blue eyes flickered to the half-eaten plate of food. "Not until you finish your dinner."

"I'm not hungry."

"I refuse to watch you starve yourself."

Yami frowned as Mokuba stood still for a moment in uncertainty. He had a bad feeling about…

"You're not eating, Nii-sama," Mokuba pointed out in a soft voice.

Seto suddenly lifted his head and fixed his gaze on his brother, feeling uneasy as he noticed that Mokuba had his head down a little, as if cowed. But he shouldn't have been frightened… well, perhaps he couldn't help it considering everything that had gone on… Really, he was right though. Seto hadn't felt like eating, so of course it made perfect sense that Mokuba thought it was acceptable to follow his example even though it wasn't. There seemed to have been a lot of that going on lately.

Mokuba held his breath as he waited for Seto to respond, but when he didn't say a word, the black-haired teen eventually gave up and left to go up to his room. Disappointed, Yami watched him depart, then turned to Seto. The brunette was tense, his jaw clenched so tightly now that Yami could practically hear his teeth grinding.

_Seto… _Cautiously, the former Pharaoh put his hand on his lover's arm, but Seto suddenly pulled away.

"No, Yami."

"Huh?"

"I've been thinking… we can't keep going on like this." Yami's brows knit in confusion as Seto paused to take in a deep breath before continuing. "I've decided to have Mokuba move into my bedroom."

Yami felt his heart suddenly sink at what Seto was implying. "Wait… what? Then where am I…"

Seto mentally winced at the sudden wave of unhappiness emanating from his boyfriend. He knew Yami wouldn't be happy… hell, he was pissed about it too! But he couldn't think of a better solution short of installing video cameras throughout the house or something like that, and that didn't sound any better.

Trying to sound as diplomatic as possible since he had no intention of changing his mind, Seto stated again, "Mokuba is moving into my room. But I'll set up a nice room for you and… you can decorate it however you want. You like doing that sort of shit, right?"

"Shall I pencil you in for sex once a week while we're at it?" Yami muttered darkly. He abruptly stood up, scowling. Seto had some nerve making a decision like that and then trying to placate him with some half-assed "solution" which really didn't even address the problem at hand.

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "Yami… don't make this harder than…"

"I hate sleeping alone; you know that, but… never mind that. More importantly, how would this make things any better between you and Noa and Mokuba?"

"I…" The young CEO shrugged, his tensed muscles making the movement almost spasmodic. The last thing he wanted to do was to alienate the one remaining person in the household that he could rely on, but he didn't know what to say, what Yami wanted to hear.

Yami sighed and sat back down, reacting to Seto's confusion and melancholy and pushing aside his anger in favor of compassion. "Baby… you can't just lock them up in separate rooms and hope the 'problem' goes away."

"I'm not! It's not… that's only part of it."

Yami cocked his head and thought back to what he and Noa had talked about earlier that day. _Does it bother you so much that they got together? _he finally settled on asking, not wanting to plunge into the heart of the matter too quickly.

_Doesn't it bother you?_ Seto shot back.

_Honestly… no, it really doesn't. Now that I've thought about it, I guess I saw it coming. Just the way that they…_

Seto's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he swung his predatory gaze around until he found his target. "You _saw_ it coming and you didn't tell me? Does NO ONE feel the need to tell me anything around here?!" he roared, forgetting in his anger that he too had spotted some telltale signs and had failed to piece them together.

"What was there to tell? You saw how they were around us. There wasn't anything that was THAT unusual. And I only got my confirmation the same time you did."

"If you even suspected… you should have told me! What made you think that I would not care?"

"I didn't think it would matter," Yami retorted, his frustration mingling with Seto's outrage like gasoline and fire.

"When it comes to Mokuba, I don't expect you to fucking _think, _I expect you to act!" Seto roared.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that too complicated for you?" Seto said snidely, a smirk twisting his lips.

The ex-spirit quickly jumped to his feet again. "Seto Kaiba, I won't tolerate you talking down to me like I'm one of your flunkeys! I don't care how upset you are; it's not accepta…"

"If you were, I'd fire you!" The brunette was standing now as well, using every inch of his height to tower over the shorter duelist. "You have no right to make decisions in my stead EVER. Mokuba is more important to me than anything; I'll never be too busy to… to…" His voice trailed off in sudden uncertainty as his brain quickly went over the last several weeks, and he realized… he really hadn't been around as much as he should have been. The near completion of the new theme park had forced him to work longer hours, and the first person he sought out when he arrived home was no longer Mokuba. It hadn't been Mokuba for what, months? A year? More than that? And Mokuba no longer came running out of the front door to ask him how his day was.

Feeling as if someone had suddenly knocked the air out of his lungs, Seto physically staggered back a step. What was he doing? He shook his head, trying to ward off his nausea, and then suddenly realized that Yami was still there, eyes blazing with anger.

_When you are ready to talk to me like a reasonable person,_ Yami ground out, his nerves completely frazzled by the entire exchange, _come find me in OUR room_. Then with a great show of restraint, he cleaned up his place at the table and stalked out of the kitchen.

* * *

Mokuba was a bit startled when Seto showed up in his room several minutes after he had left the kitchen table. At first, he thought his older brother was just there to insist that he come down and eat, but from the look on his face, he had something bigger on his mind, and was finally going to say it.

_Uh oh, here it comes._

The black-haired teen began mentally fumbling for things to say. He still wasn't prepared to explain himself, but he'd do his best. Hopefully Seto would let him say his piece and not go completely ballistic over it.

A painful silence settled into the space between the two brothers, and Mokuba found himself holding his breath as if even that slight disturbance in the air would trigger something to happen.

Seto looked a little uncertain as well, and that uncertainty carried over into his voice when he finally did speak. "Noa's… moving back into this room…"

Mokuba's breath hitched… then he realized that there had to be a catch. No way was Seto going to let Noa room with him again just like that. Unless maybe Noa or Yami had somehow talked to Seto and… _and what? Nii-sama's not easy to convince… of anything! _"He is?" he asked, a bit of hope leaking into his voice.

"And you're moving into mine."

_Huh??_ That made no sense at all! And besides, Mokuba definitely didn't want to room with Seto and… "Wait, what about Yami?"

That put a frown on the young CEO's face. "Yami's… well, don't worry about it."

Hearing that just made Mokuba worry more. The rooming with Seto part wasn't a problem in and of itself, but apparently Yami was being booted in conjunction with that, and wasn't that exactly what Mokuba was afraid of? It was stupid; there was no good reason for it! Of course he knew Seto and Yami had frequent and boisterous sex… that much was obvious to anyone with working eyeballs or eardrums. But that certainly didn't have anything to do with his interest in Noa, and it didn't make them want to do the same. Why couldn't Seto understand that?

The younger Kaiba had to protest. "Nii-sama, I don't want to move into your room. And Yami shouldn't have to move out."

"That isn't up for debate." Seto crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well it _should_ be," Mokuba mumbled under his breath, hoping that Seto hadn't heard him after it was already too late to take it back.

"Mokuba, I want you where I can keep an eye on you."

_Because you don't trust me anymore,_ Mokuba thought sadly, though he wasn't willing to say it out loud. He didn't want to hear just how disappointed his big brother was with him. It was hard enough being disappointed in himself.

Seeing as Mokuba was apparently debating with himself on whether or not he would say anything else in response, Seto waited a minute, then decided to accept Mokuba's silence as agreement with his decision.

* * *

After heading back downstairs to give a stoic Noa the same news he had just given Mokuba, information that was received and processed and sealed with a nod, Seto ran out of excuses and wandered up to his bedroom in search of his boyfriend. As much as he hated admitting he was wrong, he realized that he had been way out of line in picking a fight with Yami. He didn't know why he had done it… he'd just been feeling stressed out, and Yami getting all upset at him when he was only trying to find a reasonable solution didn't help matters any. But Seto didn't want Yami to be mad at him no matter whose fault it was; it was hard enough for him with things strained between him and Mokuba and Noa…

Sure enough, Yami was in the master bathroom and tossing some of his essentials into a plastic bag with more force than necessary, his lips pressed tightly together. As angry as he was, he was going along with his boyfriend's wishes and moving into another room. Or… perhaps he really had had it with Seto's attitude and was going to leave. As in move out completely. It made Seto nervous. Sure, he _knew_ that Yami wasn't going to leave, Yami had promised him that much, but… better to be safe than sorry, right?

The brunette leaned against the doorframe with a casual expression, though truth be told he just felt more secure with something propping him up. "You're really moving out?" he asked, the question purposefully double edged.

Yami looked up, his eyes narrowing at the implication. "I'm doing what you demanded. But…" and his lashes fluttered down for a second before he looked back up with a slightly softer expression, "don't think for a moment that I'm leaving you. I'm not, even if you ARE a complete ass at times."

Seto couldn't help but let a sigh slip out as relief flooded through him, though just as quickly he regained his composure and straightened up to meet Yami's gaze dead on. He wasn't going to change his mind, but… he knew he had been way out of line. And it wouldn't hurt to swallow his pride and smooth things out a bit. "I shouldn't have said… I didn't mean those things. You're not an idiot. I never thought you were. I just…"

"I know you're frustrated. Just… even thought I know you didn't mean it, it still… was _unpleasant _to hear such things being directed at me." Giving up on packing for the moment, Yami took a few steps toward his taller lover. _But believe me, I wasn't trying to withhold information from you, and I've never tried to make decisions in your place where Mokuba's concerned. Yes, I had a hunch that something was going on, but… well, what if I HAD said something to you and it turned out that I was wrong? Would that have been any better?_

_I know, I know… _Seto couldn't help but respond to the hurt in Yami's voice, closing the small gap between them and wrapping his arms tightly around Yami. _I'm sorry. I didn't mean it._

Yami leaned into the embrace, sliding his hands up underneath Seto's shirt to gently stroke his back. _Seto, you have to talk to them sooner or later about this. This… new living arrangement of yours may work for a day or two, but then what? It's not solving anything. _

Seto just shook his head a tiny bit. He wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't do well with this sort of thing. What could he say when Mokuba obviously didn't trust him enough to talk to him anymore? Was it even possible to earn that trust back, or had he lost it forever years ago and had simply failed to understand how final that was? His head hurt so bad. But Yami's hands on his back were a welcome and familiar thing, a bit of comfort that he sorely needed, and he couldn't resist arcing into the touch a little even as his mind reminded him that he was likely to be deprived of Yami's caresses for a long, long time.

As if to confirm that thought, Yami kissed him on the underside of his jaw and said, _Well, if you're really going to insist on doing this, I'd rather move in with Noa than have my own room._

_Why?_ It wasn't like there was a shortage of bedrooms in the mansion.

_I just… don't sleep well alone._

Seto could only sigh. He knew that. He just didn't… _couldn't_ let that dissuade him from what he had to do. Truth be told, he was going to miss Yami just as much. So he tilted his head downward for a kiss that was part apology and part longing, and hoped Yami would understand.

Yami accepted it, though a bit hesitantly at first, then his hands began drifting a little further south than where they been. A small portion of Seto's brain told him that he should stop things before they got any further, but that was quickly overridden by the rest of his brain reminding him that at least he was in his room, so Mokuba and Noa weren't going to be corrupted by what they were doing. Then his dick seconded that vote with a hungry nod and… oh hell, why not?

With his hands now firmly planted on Yami's ass, Seto groaned into the kiss and flicked the tip of his tongue across Yami's lips, seeking entry, which was quickly granted. In the meantime, the ex-spirit's hands moved around and upward until he had them on Seto's chest, his palms rubbing hardening nipples up and around in an erotic pattern. After they broke apart to pant for breath, a wicked gleam flashed in Yami's eyes and he leaned over and began unbuttoning Seto's shirt using his mouth, his tongue lifting the button flap and holding it in place while his teeth pushed the button through with amazing efficiency.

_Oh yeah… _Seto licked his lips. He knew how good Yami was with his mouth, but it was so hot seeing him put on a little show like that. Not that he needed any help in getting aroused – truthfully he just wanted release and soon - but he always appreciated the little unexpected things that Yami did to tease and tempt him. And this was definitely one of the more erotic little moves he had, something that truly ought to be savored. Enthralled by the promise of pleasure, neither he nor Yami heard the soft padding of footsteps until it was too late.

"Okay Nii… uh…" Mokuba appeared in the doorway, his backpack falling from his slack grasp onto the floor, his face coloring a little. "Oh, sorry!"

Seto reacted by shoving Yami away so hard that the kneeling teen lost his balance and fell sprawling onto the floor. Immediately he was caught in a dilemma of who to turn to first. Mokuba looked embarrassed to be catching them in the act once again, and Yami… well, if Yami was mad before, he was ten times angrier now.

It was too late to do anything about Yami's hurt feelings, deprived arousal, and soon-to-be sore hip he supposed, though part of him protested the decision. But Seto knew who he had to address first anyway. So he turned to Mokuba and said, "It's okay, Yami was just leaving."

"Oh." Gray eyes flickered over to the sour-faced former Pharaoh.

"Yeah." Seto went to give Yami a hand up, but Yami quickly batted it away, his eyes flashing in warning like brake lights. _Yami? I…_

_Forget it, _Yami snapped, frustrated and pissed off all over again. It was one thing to know that Mokuba was Seto's top priority as was to be expected, and another to just be pushed aside like he didn't matter at all. Besides, he didn't see how this was helpful to Mokuba in any way… the poor thing looked so guilty, probably blaming himself for the way Seto reacted. So he grabbed the bag off the bathroom counter, said a terse "Good night," and walked out of the room rapidly.

As soon as Yami was gone, Mokuba turned to Seto with an incredulous look, the guilt weighing even more heavily on him now. He hadn't meant to walk in on them… they had been quieter than usual, and it wasn't like they were actually doing IT. That was never even an issue before. Was this Seto's idea of setting a "good example" for him, to take things to the other extreme and push away his boyfriend as if he didn't count for anything? What type of example was that? He wouldn't dare break up with Yami, would he? Shocked, the black-haired teen stammered, "How can you just… just…"

Mokuba's voice trailed off as Seto gave him a look that was partially angry and partially unhappy. Well, mostly unhappy actually. It lasted all of a second before Seto turned away and said in a surprisingly steady voice, "Don't worry about it. Start getting ready for bed, okay?" And then he too walked out of the bathroom, leaving Mokuba dumbstruck… and feeling worse than ever.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:  
- Hehe, wasn't sure how hard it would be to do it, but yeah, you can unbutton a shirt relatively easily using your mouth ;) I thought it would be quicker to chew off the buttons or to rip them off, but that's more of a pain to do, even if it is hot.  
- I know some people (Rekall) are probably wanting to smack me (hi Rekall) for setting up for what could have been a nice little lemon, and then yanking it away so cruelly. But don't blame me – I got the idea for that angle from Rekall's constant request for Seto and Yami smut in this fic. So HA! Mwahahaha! HNNN!!  
- Re: title of chapter. It's a horrible joke in one way and a contradiction in another. Think about it. Seto and Yami had some sparks going, and I snuffed them. So… they didn't start a fire, a burning hot fire of passionate luuve making… But in another way, if you think about all their arguing this chapter, yeah, then there was a fire all right. Just not the one y'all wanted to see :)  
- As usual, Seto read things wrong. When Mokuba walked in on him and Yami, Seto thinks that Mokuba is embarrassed to catch them together. Yami thinks Mokuba feels guilty about interrupting them. Yami was right.  
- Thankies for reviews last chapter folks; keep it up :)


	6. Ch 5: Like Father, Like Son

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "Like Father, Like Son" is from the musical Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**Taboo**

**Ch. 5: Like Father, Like Son**

* * *

Seto awoke the next morning feeling content and warm, draped loosely over the body next to him. He always had a much more restful sleep with Yami beside him, the younger duelist's presence a welcome bit of reassurance in his otherwise hectic life. And he desperately needed that right now with things going as badly as they were.

The body in his embrace shifted a little, hair gliding past his chin as the head tilted back and… _Mokuba's_ eyes gazed up at him, worry and curiosity mixing together in the storm-colored depths.

Oh shit. He had forgotten… he had argued with Yami the night before, right? Booted him from the room so that Mokuba could move in? He had thought it was a nightmare or something.

For his part, Mokuba didn't say a word, just lay there scrutinizing his brother who quickly rolled away and got out of bed without comment. The black-haired teen had slept pretty badly, bothered by the way his brother needed to wrapped himself around him while he slept. Although Seto would never admit to it, Yami wasn't the only one in the relationship who didn't sleep well alone, and it really was only because of Yami's influence that Seto had learned to start sleeping a regular schedule. Heck, back before Yami had moved in, Seto's general approach to getting sleep was to work late into the night until he literally passed out from exhaustion. And Mokuba could see him starting all that up again if he weren't properly "motivated" to go to bed.

Of course, the "motivation" was part of the reason why Yami had stormed off in a huff last night. And that had eaten at Mokuba all night long. Not that he wanted to watch the two of them go at it like rabid bunnies, but there was a sort of comfort in knowing that they acted like that, just being themselves and doing what they enjoyed without worrying about keeping up appearances.

All he knew was he couldn't let them break up over this. Whatever it took… he'd make sure of that. It would kill him to see Seto going back to being the way he was before Yami came along. But at the same time, a selfish part of him wanted to capture that same great joy that came from being loved by someone special. Was it possible for him to get what he wanted and preserve Seto's happiness as well, or was it too late for that? If the latter were true, as awful as it was... he didn't want Seto to be the one making the sacrifice this time.

By the time Yami was up, Seto and Mokuba had vanished again, presumably to Kaiba Corp., though Seto hadn't left a note this time. Not even two full days had passed since Mokuba and Noa's secret had been found out, and Yami was already sick of how badly things had degraded. The separation itself wasn't the issue; Seto had been on business trips that had lasted up to two weeks, though they had become far more infrequent as of late. But the reasons behind why they weren't currently sleeping in the same room… that was a whole different story. Yami wasn't a total pessimist by nature, but he doubted that Seto took Mokuba to work with him to confront him or to settle their differences in opinion. And they really, _really_ needed to. How long could they all coexist if nothing was resolved? Seto's simmering anger was trying the find an outlet, and since he couldn't… no, _wouldn't_ get mad at Mokuba, and was ignoring Noa on top of that, he was taking it out on his crimson-eyed lover instead.

Yami figured he ought to be mad about that still. And a small part of him was. But a bigger part of him accepted that Mokuba was the one person that Seto worried about the most, and understood that Seto was a complete dunce when it came to the people he held nearest to his heart. And because of that, he really couldn't stay angry.

Tearing his thoughts away from their personal problems, the ex-spirit focused himself on the task at hand. He had promised Seto several days ago that he'd give his opinion on the list of potential invites for the next great Duel Monsters tournament, the KC Grand Prix. He had originally planned to give his report to Seto the day before, but with all the crap going on, he hadn't thought about it at all. Yami still wasn't in the mood to be working on it, but knowing Seto… if he didn't get something by the end of the day, it would just be another burden that he'd try to shoulder himself, and Yami didn't want to add anything else to his boyfriend's already heaping pile of concerns. And in many ways, he was pleased that Seto trusted him and wanted him to help out, knowing full well that Seto was notoriously... _attached_ to his projects and wanted to do everything himself.

Yami sighed as he sorted through the various online applications and recommendations they'd received. Back when he… well, Yugi was actively dueling, they just dueled. They really didn't have the sorts of gimmicks that some of the duelists used nowadays to make themselves "popular."

_Okay, this guy uses a monkey to select the cards he's going to play. So why don't we just enter the monkey in the tournament instead?_ Yami wondered, grimacing to himself at the sheer corniness of it all. Yes, Duel Monsters was a game, but it meant much more to him and Seto than just that.

But maybe monkey boy was the type of duelist that people currently liked. He certainly seemed to be a fairly popular guy judging on attendance figures, and he had done well in a number of smaller tournaments. So from a promotional standpoint, it might benefit them to have some wild cards that would draw an audience, though Yami knew he'd be lying if he said he understood anything about how marketing worked.

_Oh well, that's the sort of thing that Seto's good at._ Yami made a few notes and went down to the next applicant, noting with amusement that it was from Rebecca Hopkins. Well, if nothing else, he knew she was a competent duelist…

_Hey, um… Yami?_ Yugi's gentle mental voice drifted into Yami's head as he noted his approval of Rebecca's application.

_Aibou._ Yami unconsciously nodded his head in greeting as if the little duelist were standing before him. _How's everything?_

_I was about to ask you the same. I don't mean to pry, but you've seemed… unhappy as of late. Is something bothering you?_

_Just busy sorting through these entries for KC Grand Prix, and… uh… _Yami bit down lightly on his lip. Should he reveal what was really going on to Yugi? Not that it was his business what went on in the Kaiba household, but on the other hand, this was _Yugi_ - his aibou, his other half. He could trust Yugi with anything. And he certainly needed someone to talk to who wasn't on one side or the other.

Focusing on his bond with Yugi, Yami began explaining what was going on, from the way they had unexpectedly found out about the true nature of Mokuba and Noa's relationship, to the fact that he was now rooming with Noa because Seto wanted Mokuba where he could keep an eye on him. He couldn't help but feel a faint echo of his previous anger as he went over the most recent events, but all the talking was rather cathartic as well. And the entire time, Yugi listened patiently, even though Yami could tell that he disapproved of some of the things that had been going on.

When Yami was through, he had to ask, _So, what do you think I should do? Is there even anything I could do?_

_Oh, Yami. _There was a pause as Yugi searched for the kindest way to get his point across. _I'm not sure what to tell you. Sounds like the three of them really need to just sit down and hash things out._

_Not going to happen at this rate, not unless I duct tape them to the kitchen chairs and force them to talk._

_Well, that's the thing… I don't think you should really interfere._

_Why not? This affects me too._

Yugi sighed. He had figured that Yami wouldn't be thrilled about his suggestion, but the way he saw it, things were already complicated enough between Seto, Mokuba and Noa that adding Yami to the equation just made it that much messier. But he knew Yami couldn't resist trying to play referee. So he decided to try a different approach. _Yes, I know it's affecting you because you live there, and 'cause Kaiba is your boyfriend. But it sounds like this really is between the three of them. And I guess Kaiba's so stressed having to deal with Mokuba and Noa that having to take you into consideration on top of that is probably too much for him to handle. _

_But I can't just sit around and pretend nothing's wrong and hope that things work themselves out,_ Yami responded glumly. Yugi could practically feel him pouting.

_That's not what I'm saying. Just… be supportive. He probably needs that from you more than anything right now._

_I'm trying, but he just makes it so HARD!_

_I know, I know, _Yugi said in a soothing tone. And actually, he did know. After all, he had been stuck with the task of trying to get through to Seto on more than one occasion. It was akin to smacking one's head against a brick wall. And he had only met with partial success anyway. The last time he had attempted it… well, that had taught him to refrain from sticking his nose into Seto Kaiba's business again. Of course, the brunette would be more tolerant of Yami's interference, but still… when it came to matters concerning Mokuba, Yugi bet that Seto's tolerance was pretty damn low no matter where the offers of assistance were coming from.

_I'll consider it, _Yami finally managed to tell his other half, sounding almost as stubborn as his boyfriend. But Yugi wasn't going to ask for more than that. It was advice, not a command.

_Well, whatever you decide to do… good luck. And if you need to talk, remember that I'm always here for you. Don't wait for me to ask for an update!_

Yami made a sound of acknowledgement, then let the link fade until it was once again just a quiet presence in the back of Yugi's mind. Finally alone with his own thoughts, the violet-eyed teen couldn't help but shake his head in amazement. No wonder Yami had been upset the last couple of days. What a mess! He really couldn't blame Seto for reacting so badly, because even though it didn't seem to bother Yami much, what Noa and Mokuba had going almost verged on incest. And they'd been doing it behind their big brother's back. Their insanely overprotective big brother's back. Plus, from a more pragmatic point of view, it could cause a ton of problems for all of them if the general public ever found out. But now that he thought about it… he guessed it wasn't really all that surprising. Or unexpected.

"Hey, yo… Yug. Yoohoo!" A hand waved in front of his eyes, and then a pair of warm brown eyes popped into view.

"Huh? Oh, Jou… sorry. Was just talking to Yami real quick."

"Yeah? What did ya talk about?"

Yugi didn't even have to think about it. Yami's confidences would go no further, even though he hadn't expressly forbidden him to tell everyone else. But that didn't mean that he had to lie to Jou either. Giving his friend a small smile, he simply said, "Did you end up applying for a spot in Kaiba's upcoming tournament?"

"Peh. Yeah, even though I know that…" and Jou looked around the game shop, dropping his voice as he noticed some kids walking by, following Sugoroku towards the register, "that prick is gonna reject my app cuz he thinks I'm a mediocre duelist." Well, that and the fact that he was no longer actively tournament dueling just like everyone else in their circle, but he couldn't resist the possibility of throwing a win into Seto's face at his own tournament.

"Well, from the sound of it, Yami's the one selecting the attendees," Yugi mentioned. "Or at least, he's playing a big part in that."

Jou instantly brightened up, realizing that he'd be a shoo-in if that were the case. "Really? Awesome." And he laughed.

Neither teen noticed Sugoroku grinning to himself behind the counter.

* * *

Seto and Mokuba arrived back home late in the afternoon, but when Yami went to greet them, he knew with one look that nothing had been resolved. With Yugi's advice weighing heavily on his mind, he decided to refrain from commenting on that obvious fact, and instead told Seto that he had finished sorting through the KC Grand Prix applicants while Mokuba took the opportunity to sullenly disappear up the stairs. Seto might have stopped the black-haired teen from wandering off, but Yami quickly assured his lover that Noa was in the kitchen.

The young CEO grunted a rather irritated "Thanks" and switched gears, mentally checking Yami's task off his long list of concerns for the opening of the new theme park. He had planned to look over the list of participants and give it his final approval, but he honestly didn't have the time nor mindset for it and figured Yami would get the job done right anyway. But what was really eating at him was that he had just revised and finalized his work schedule leading up to the grand opening of the new KaibaLand, and Yami was sure to have a total shit fit when he found out what that would entail. And with everything going on, he didn't want to deal with yet another argument once he broke the news to his lover that he was going to be gone overseas for nearly two months… and that he'd miss both Yami's birthday and their two year anniversary.

But Yami didn't know what Seto had planned. He chalked up the taller duelist's grouchiness to stress from the Mokuba and Noa situation, a reasonable assumption given the circumstances. So he figured everything was about as okay as it could be and headed back to the kitchen to finish up dinner – chicken cacciatore and risotto with asparagus. The risotto wasn't quite done yet though; Noa was still busy blending the cheese and butter into it, only pausing momentarily to glance at Seto when he finally followed Yami into the room.

"Thanks for watching the risotto for me, Noa… it looks like it's almost done," Yami said as he stepped up to the stove, the chef in him asserting itself. "I'll take over if you want to go ahead and grab a seat at the table."

Noa kept stirring. "It's okay, I've got it."

Yami's fingers twitched slightly. As silly as it was, he wanted to be the one to finish the dish since Noa wasn't moving the spoon around as slowly as he would've liked, but he convinced himself that he was being unreasonable. At least it gave Noa something to occupy himself with. "Um, okay then. I guess I'll go get Mokuba."

Seto made a soft sound, as if he were about to protest and then had changed his mind.

_Or would you rather go get him yourself? _Yami asked his boyfriend, realizing that perhaps Seto wasn't comfortable being in the kitchen alone with Noa, though he wasn't sure if acting on that realization counted as interference. Actually, he still hadn't decided one way or the other on that. Yugi was probably right, but he couldn't help himself.

The brunette shifted slightly in his seat at the island, buying himself a second to think of an answer. Oh, he knew what Yami was trying to do, but… since Mokuba didn't seem to be receptive to conversation, perhaps he could approach things from a different angle and work on Noa instead. He supposed it was worth trying, even if he honestly wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. So he simply told Yami, _Nah, you go get him,_ then waited until the ex-spirit left the kitchen before turning his attention to Noa.

"Did you think I wouldn't ever catch you guys?" Seto began, cutting straight to the chase. If Yami wanted him to talk, he'd talk all right.

Noa looked over his shoulder, wanting to spit out that he had _wanted_ to tell Seto what was going on, but he caught himself… he didn't want to get Mokuba in any more trouble. So he bit back that retort and instead lamely mumbled, "Maybe we were hoping you wouldn't."

Seto snorted. Noa had some nerve, and by the way he had to check himself before he answered, he was obviously not telling the whole truth. Seto could feel his blood pressure rising. He was so sick of being lied to, and was just spoiling for a fight. "You're using him aren't you, you little snake? Turning him against me. How'd you force him into it this time?" he barked, voicing the worst possible scenario that had crossed his mind, daring Noa to deny it.

That snide tone… it made Noa clench his teeth in anger. And worse yet, Seto was implying that he was only using Mokuba, that he was hurting him, all over some grudge that existed in his own head. So Noa slapped the saucepot down and snapped, "How can you say that? I'd never hurt Mokuba again, ever… has it even occurred to you that maybe this was a mutual thing? That this isn't about you? Why don't you ask him if you don't believe me?"

"You're damn right it's not about me. It's always been about Mokuba."

"It should be. But you're the one with the problem, not him! Even Yami doesn't…" Noa forced himself to shut up right there… he had no clue what Yami had told Seto and what Seto had thought of it, and bringing Yami into the conversation was just a bad idea all around.

Just as Noa had figured, Seto instantly latched onto the unfinished statement. "Yami doesn't what?"

"…Yami doesn't have a problem with it." And Noa did believe that the former Pharaoh had been honest about that much.

"I don't give a fuck if he does or not. He's not the one responsible for the two of you... I am."

"Yeah, so? He's your boyfriend; his opinion should matter to you."

"Well it doesn't. Not when it comes to this. What, you figured you'd get Yami on your side and I'd just forget what you've done?"

"I haven't done anything!" Noa yelled back. "We haven't…" He took a deep breath. "If you really _thought_ that we had… which we HAVEN'T… you'd have kicked me out so fast…"

"I'm tempted to kick you out right now you brat, before you have a chance to cause any more damage. I should have done it a long time I ago. I should have known that you were just waiting to corrupt Mokuba." After all, Mokuba had been straight before Noa started messing around with his head, hadn't he? And even if he weren't, he certainly wouldn't have chosen to pursue a relationship with Noa of all people. Not that Seto objected to Mokuba being straight, gay, whatever… after all, he was gay himself; but it was just that… why wasn't he sure of the answer to that question?

Noa quickly jumped onto Seto's apparent uncertainty. "Corrupt him? Corrupt him into what? It's you and Yami that are fucking in every room of the house, like you get your rocks off knowing you have an audience or something. You think we want to see that? I didn't do anything like that, so why are you blaming me for that sort of shit?!"

"Watch your mouth!" Seto interrupted, eyes blazing in warning.

"Why the fuck should I?" Seto had some nerve saying that; what a hypocrite he was! "Besides… you think I would have even considered a relationship with Mokuba if that wasn't what he wanted? You really believe that I'd coerce or force him into being with me?" But Noa couldn't quite get himself to reveal that Mokuba had been the instigator, as well as the one who decided that their relationship had to remain a secret. He figured that if Seto was going to continue to flip out, better him than Mokuba.

"You did before," Seto said nastily, his anger at that memory drowning out the little voice in his head that pointed out that Noa was right at least about the way he and Yami carelessly behaved. That he was also a part of the problem. But he'd have to address that later, with Yami… and it wasn't Noa's business anyway.

"I would never do that again. Especially not to Mokuba. And he knows that."

"He'd be a fool to believe you. I certainly don't."

"Well that's your problem. Mokuba believes in me," Noa stated, a touch of arrogance in his voice.

"Hmph. Why, I'll never know. I should have known better than to let any part of Gozaburo back into my life. You're as poisonous as that bastard old man of yours."

Ah, they were in dangerous waters now. But Noa was so caught up in the argument that he couldn't stop himself, and the mention of Gozaburo just reminded him that he had a lot more ammunition to work with. "It's not my fault that he treated you like crap! He never wanted you anyway, or did you forget that you're the one who tricked him into the adoption in the first place? So you only have yourself to blame for things not going the way you hoped."

"I earned the right to be here in this house and I let you stay here against my better judgement, and this is the thanks I get?"

"This was my house and my life first!" Noa yelled back. "You stole it from me!"

"Just like how you're trying to steal Mokuba from me?!"

"I'm not! But… ah, I get it." He let loose a short, malicious laugh. "You're just jealous of me! Not only were you just a poor substitute for me in my father's eyes, but now with Mokuba… You just can't stand the thought that as Mokuba grows up, he might decide that he doesn't want you as the center of his universe anymore? That he'd rather spend his free time with me. I mean… did you even know that he was interested in both guys and girls?" A look of confusion flashed in the depths of Seto's blue eyes, causing Noa to smirk triumphantly. "Yeah, that's what I figured. Some big brother you turned out to be."

"I have ALWAYS put Mokuba first and foremost! Everything I've done, I've done for his sake. You think you can just stroll in here and take that from me!? I won't let you!"

"Maybe I can. Maybe he'd rather be with ME. Maybe he'd be better off…"

Seto literally saw red. He wasn't going to stand for Noa threatening to steal away the one person that mattered to him more than anything. Noa had tried it once, and Mokuba had forgiven him for it, but Seto could never forget it. With a snarl, he rapidly rose to his feet, stalking over to Noa and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, pushing him up against the stove as he got right into the teen's face and hissed, "You son of a bitch! I'd kill you before I'd let you take him away from me!"

Noa's eyes widened at the venom in Seto's voice, at the way his eyes took on a crazed look. He wasn't kidding… he meant exactly what he said, and from the way his hand clamped down and tightened on Noa's throat, he was going to make good on his threat right then and there.

Realizing that he had said too much and gone too far and fearing for his safety, Noa shut his mouth and swallowed hard, feeling the way his throat had to work against the pressure Seto was putting on it. God, what was he thinking?! Why did he have to shoot his mouth off like that? The young billionaire was very capable of causing him some serious harm, and he knew it. And there wasn't much he could do about it save hope that Seto could regain some self-control. For a brief moment, he worried about what Mokuba would do if he came down right at that moment and saw Seto trying to kill him. Or worse yet, Seto standing over his unconscious body. It made him shiver uncontrollably.

But Seto was past the point of caring about how much damage he was doing, or what the repercussions would be. Like a shark, he could literally smell the blood in the water. And he was going to go in for the kill. Literally nose to nose with Noa, he growled, "You should have gone down with that bastard father of yours. If I had known that Mokuba had taken that hard drive, that you were on it... I would have smashed it and thrown it into the ocean. Even that would have been better than you deserved!"

"NII-SAMA!" And suddenly Mokuba was there, rushing to push his way between his brothers, a frantic look on his face. "Nii-sama!!! Don't!"

Yami was there too, his loud mental cries now nearly drowning out Mokuba's voice. He had been trying to get through to Seto as soon as he realized how bad things were getting, but Seto's fury had been so great that it had practically blocked him out. _Seto, stop it! You're choking him!_

The words didn't make any sense, at least not until Seto looked down and realized what he was doing. He had his right hand knotted in the front of Noa's shirt, and the left was actually clamped around the teen's throat. He had really tried to throttle him! Both Yami and Mokuba were trying to pry that hand off to no avail. And Noa was staring at him anxiously, his breathing a little too fast and shallow to be healthy, blue eyes absolutely huge in fear.

It took the brunette another moment to register that Mokuba was there, that the black-haired teen had witnessed at least the horrifyingly disastrous end of the fight and was now standing wedged in the middle, trying to use his body to shield Noa's. "Please, Nii-sama… don't…"

_This… has happened before,_ Seto thought, again remembering Mokuba turning against him to defend Noa in the virtual world. But back then, Noa _had_ been controlling him. And Mokuba's eyes had been dead, blank… Seto shook his head in disgust. He didn't want to think back to that again. Then everything blurred, and he remembered Mokuba trapped in the death simulation chamber at Death-T, screaming for him to no avail…

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba breathed again. He sounded like he was begging. He sounded so scared.

Seto couldn't stand it. He finally let go, then took a step back. He could vaguely hear Noa panting for air and sensed the frantic buzzing of Yami's concern through their bond, but he couldn't focus on either one at the moment. As much of a monster as Noa had been in his virtual world, how was he any better? Look at what he had just done! He was the reason why there were tears rolling down Mokuba's cheeks, why trepidation flickered in those gray eyes…

_What have I…_ "Mokuba," he barely choked out, his throat completely dry.

Mokuba's face screwed up as he unsuccessfully fought off a fresh wave of tears, and he wiped at them angrily, instinctively turning to the nearest shoulder to cry on, which happened to be Noa's.

"I'm… sorry. Mokuba, I didn't…" Seto began stammering in apology, but Mokuba seemed inconsolable, latching onto Noa even harder, one arm wrapped tightly around the older teen's back, his fists tightening around the fabric of Noa's shirt.

Then Yami stepped in, his eyes mirroring the uncertainty that Seto felt._ Just… let him get it off his chest. He's really upset. If Noa can make him feel a bit better, let him, okay? _the crimson-eyed teen began, trying to sound as soothing as possible. Actually, he was still alarmed at what he had just witnessed as well, but judging from Seto's reaction to his own behavior now that he had regained control, he needed reassurance just as much as anyone else in the room.

_I could have…_ Seto left the rest unsaid. He knew full well what he was capable of; they all did. He could never forget it.

_No. If you really were going to, we all know it would have been too late by the time we got down here._

_Yami, don't bullshit me._ God, his temper was already flaring once more, this time at Yami. And the former Pharaoh so didn't deserve that, not again. But he couldn't stop himself. Mokuba was so distressed, and it was his fault. And as terrorized as he was, Noa was still standing there, offering what comfort he could to the youngest Kaiba in between furtive glances at Seto. Dinner was completely ruined. Their lives were in shambles thanks to his actions. It was making him nauseous. He had to get away.

Ignoring Yami's entreaties of, _Seto, wait!_ the young CEO swiftly made his way to the garage, grabbed a motorcycle, and headed out with no particular destination in mind.

* * *

Seto didn't return for hours. He wasn't even sure where he had gone… he bet that he'd probably retraced his route two or three times before he realized that he was almost out of gas and either had to refuel or go home. And considering that he had left in such a rush, he hadn't even taken his wallet with him, so there wasn't much of a choice at all.

When he finally snuck back into the house, it had been dark for hours. And so the first thing he realized was that Yami was still up, sitting curled up loosely on a sofa with a single reading lamp on and a random magazine in his lap. Tired crimson eyes flickered over his face as if assessing the current threat level that he posed, then Yami decided it was safe and blinked.

"Mokuba's in bed. Noa too. Different rooms, of course," Yami finally informed his boyfriend, yawning widely.

"I'm sorry." Boy, he certainly had been apologizing a lot as of late. Not that it mattered… he just kept making everything worse. So why was he even bothering?

"Don't apologize to me."

"Hn." Well, if he wasn't apologizing for what he had already said and done, he certainly was sorry about the news he was going to have to break to Yami. As if Yami needed more to stress about.

Of course, the shorter duelist picked up on that sense of dread quickly. _Baby? What is it?_

Seto sat down, shut his eyes, and took a breath. _I'm leaving next week to oversee the completion of the new KaibaLand. I'm… going to be gone for eight weeks, and I'm taking Mokuba with me._

There was a pause. Seto could feel Yami's surprise. _When did you decide this?_

_Earlier today. Much earlier. _Why wasn't Yami more upset about it? _I didn't get a chance to tell you, 'cause… you know._

_So what about Noa? We're just going to leave him here by himself?_

Seto flinched a little at the mention of Noa. A small part of him wondered if the teen was okay, but the rest of him dismissed that concern. Of course he was, or else Yami would have mentioned it. Besides, he didn't want to talk about Noa right now. And he had a question to answer, or more precisely… a statement to clarify. _No. I'm ONLY taking Mokuba with me. Believe me… it's better that way._

Oh, Yami was mad all right; Seto could feel it flooding into their link like hot lava. It might have made him mad too, if anger hadn't worn out its welcome already. But it dissipated quickly, and was followed by a very deep hurt that literally made Seto's body tense up so swiftly that it immediately began to ache.

So it came as no surprise when Yami got up and silently left the room, leaving Seto alone on the sofa, wondering how much worse things could possibly get when the few people he cared about feared and hated him in return.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:   
- Re: Yami saying, "I'm trying, but he just makes it so HARD!" hehe. Sorry, after I wrote it, I started laughing at myself over the stupid double entendre.  
- In case it isn't obvious, the bit with Yugi, Jou and Sugoroku is set up for the next fic arc :)  
- I find that many people who cook are rather possessive of everything in the kitchen, and nothing can ever truly be done to their satisfaction except when they do it themselves. So I see Yami in that same light.  
- Whew, the fight between Seto and Noa was a tough one to write. This is actually the second version, and I hope I didn't overdo it. Like it? Hate it? If you hate it, um... I blame Nenya! (runs away)


	7. Ch 6: The Morning of the Dragon

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "The Morning of the Dragon" is from the musical Miss Saigon, by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boubil and Richard Maltby Jr. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

****

Taboo

Ch. 6: The Morning of the Dragon

* * *

It was just a routine meeting, the type held frequently during work hours. But Seto couldn't concentrate on anything going on, barely registering his employees' often timid questions of concern. He hadn't slept at all the previous evening, choosing instead to spend his time at the entrance of his bedroom watching Mokuba sleeping, then moving on to Mokuba's old room to do the same with Yami. And of course, since Noa was in the same room with Yami, in the bed closer to the door… he couldn't help but watch him as well. The green-haired teen had been restless in his sleep, and Seto wondered what sort of nightmares he had saddled him with. He hadn't really planned on staying up the entire night, but before he knew it, the darkness had receded and gave way to faint morning light, and now he was running on caffeine and guilt while his underlings prattled on about projected attendance at the new KaibaLand.

_Fuck projected attendance._ What good did it do him to have a perfect grand opening, have everything at the park go to plan… and have everything at home crumbling to dust? KaibaLand may have been his dream, but he was too practical to have his head in the clouds. And he knew by now, he couldn't do it all alone.

Yami had to still be pissed off about what he had done. And not just the fact that they'd be separated for two months, a decision which Seto was already wavering on despite his determination NOT to change his mind, but… he had seen what Seto had done to Noa. And he himself had been the undeserving recipient of Seto's anger when all he had tried to do was be the voice of reason.

Seto _knew_ he shouldn't have taken his anger out on Yami. Even though Yami… wasn't the type who'd leave him over that, judging by the number of arguments they'd survived, he deserved to be treated so much better. He deserved, at the very least, to not have to sleep alone.

But it was already hard enough worrying about Mokuba this and Mokuba that. And Mokuba had to be his number one priority. Yami needed to understand that. Perhaps he did. If he didn't he'd have been long gone, and Seto couldn't have really held it against him if that had been the end result. But thankfully, Yami was a much better person than that, and Seto was grateful for the faith Yami had shown in him.

He really wanted to make up with his boyfriend. He hated it when they fought. It bothered him almost as much as the fact that he had flown into such a rage and attacked Noa. Whether or not his so-called younger brother deserved it… he honestly wasn't sure. But he shouldn't have let Noa get to him so badly. And he definitely shouldn't have lost control like that. As angry as he had been… he hadn't actually wanted to kill Noa. He hadn't even wanted to hurt him. But without even realizing it, he had put his hand on the teen's throat, leaned his weight into it…

Seto had almost killed Mokuba before. It had to be why Mokuba didn't trust him. He had tried to kill Yugi and Yami and Sugoroku too. Yami had returned the favor. Maybe that's why he and Yami got along so well once they had advanced beyond being merely rivals. Seto wasn't sure. They had never really talked about it. There had never been a need for it.

Then, suddenly… as if Yami had felt the direction of his thoughts … Seto sensed him nearby. Abruptly he stood up. The discussion in the room died down to an uncertain murmur.

"M… Mr. Kaiba?" someone stammered.

Seto took a breath, focusing on the nothing more interesting than the tabletop. Yami was in his office. "Meeting is cancelled."

"Ah!" a female voice gasped. "But Mr. Kaiba… this is very…"

"I said it's cancelled." Seto didn't even wait for his employees to move to comply, he just wheeled around and headed for the doors at the end of the room.

* * *

Sure enough, when Seto got up to his office, Yami was there, perched on the edge of the desk. The shorter duelist's head swiveled to face his lover as soon as he heard the door open. He looked tired, and a bit sad, and that same weariness was evident in his voice as he asked, "Since you just took off this morning, I guess I should let you know that the boys are at school and yes, I drove them there myself, and yes, they behaved themselves the entire way there."

"Thanks."

Yami scrubbed at his face. "I don't suppose there's any point in talking to you about your trip when you've already decided how it's going to go, huh?"

Seto went still for a moment, then he shut the door quietly. Leaning against the wood, he considered the question carefully. He didn't really have an answer though he supposed Yami deserved one, an honest one at that. "We can talk about it, but… I have no intention of changing my mind. You'd… be a distraction."

"How am I a distraction?"

"Well, like… you're in here right now, distracting me. I ended up walking out of a meeting," Seto said, though he neglected to mention that he was pretty distracted before he even realized that Yami was around.

Crimson eyes widened in disbelief. "I didn't even tell you I was here! Nor would I have asked you to put aside your work obligations just to come and talk to me."

"But I knew you were up here. It was enough. And there's so much to do before the new park opens. I can't afford to be distracted at all."

Yami looked away for a moment. He knew what Seto was implying, even if he didn't say it out loud. Did he honestly think that their relationship was only about sex? "I see."

"Yami, I… I'm not doing this to hurt you. I mean, I didn't want to, but… Mokuba…"

"… still isn't finished with his school year here. And yet he's going with you."

"I'd have gotten him a tutor," Seto mumbled, having considered the subject beforehand. "And I don't see why that matters to you. It's not your concern anyways."

"Not my concern! I know he's not my little brother but…"

"He's not your anything!" Seto yelled, immediately regretting it as soon as he saw the unhappy expression on Yami's face. He hadn't meant that… why'd he have to open his big mouth and stick his foot into it all the time? "Fuck… I didn't mean that."

"And what, I'm your 'permanent house guest?' Why don't you tell me how you _really_ feel?" Yami bit out. "Do you really have so little faith in me?"

"I'm sorry." And he really was. But he just kept digging the hole deeper and deeper with every word he said. Taking a deep breath, Seto tried again. "I know that you worry about them, even if they aren't your brothers. I couldn't have a relationship with someone that didn't care. But… I just got so used to thinking that I couldn't rely on anyone else." He sensed Yami's uncertainty lingering at that, and quickly added, "I trust you, Yami. I don't know how many other people I can say that to. Especially right now."

The ex-spirit looked deep into his lover's eyes, letting the sincerity of the words sink in. Seto looked worn out and frazzled, but in his gaze was steady… and Yami realized that just as much as he had wanted to hear Seto say "I love you," he had always wanted to know that he was trusted as well. Oh, not that he hadn't already known it… it had been there for such a long time, but by Seto saying it, it was as if he were finally willing to admit it himself.

Well, if they were going to speak of trust, then Yami definitely had to be candid about what he thought. While he appreciated Yugi's advice from the day before, he was tired of beating around the bush and watching Seto brood over things by himself. And time was of the essence. He couldn't stand the thought of Seto leaving the country and leaving this whole mess unresolved.

Without breaking eye contact, Yami said clearly, "You NEED to talk to them. Both of them. And you need to figure out what exactly it is about their little relationship that is bothering you the most, and address that directly. Let me help you. There's no reason for you to have to handle everything on your own. I know it goes against your nature, but this is something that's affecting all of us. "

Seto nodded slowly. Yami was right. And he did trust him. But it was hard letting go of the belief that he had to deal with his problems on his own.

_Our problems. This isn't a your problem / my problem situation, not anymore._

The brunette gaped at his boyfriend. Had he been thinking so "loudly" that Yami had picked up on that? _Yami?_

_Yes… you're thinking everything very loudly._

_Ah…_

_So can we talk about this? _

Seto considered it, then gave the go-ahead with a tilting of his head, though he was unsure if Yami was referring to the business trip or the Mokuba and Noa issue. But he wasn't comfortable discussing things as if they were having some sort of business transaction, so he got up and motioned for Yami to follow him to the wide padded bench flanked by the Blue Eyes White Dragon sculpture in the corner.

After they both sat down, Yami surprised Seto by gently tugging his at sleeve until he tilted over, Seto's head ending up in Yami's lap as slender fingers began methodically running themselves through strands of brown hair. Despite everything, the young billionaire could feel the tension in his body fading away as Yami did his thing. He was pretty tired, and it felt so nice to be close to his lover like that…

Yami could feel Seto starting to relax against him, but as much as he may have wanted to see his lover get some rest, they still had a lot of things to discuss. _Baby, I know Mokuba is the most important thing in the universe to you. And maybe I don't have the right to interfere. But this… it can't go on. As far as I can tell, the two of you haven't said anything of note to each other since Friday night. _

_I don't know what to say to him,_ Seto said plaintively.

_What is it that is bothering you the most?_

Seto pursed his lips. There were so many things, but when it came down to it… He rolled onto his back and looked up at Yami, who just stroked his cheek and waited with saint-like patience for him to respond.

He still didn't want to talk about it. But he knew he needed to. _Mokuba… doesn't trust me. I was a fool to think that after what I did, that he could ever trust me again._

_Death-T._

_Yes._

_You tried to kill me too. Do you think that that means I don't trust you either?_

Seto shut his eyes. His head was starting to throb. _Do you?_

_Of course I do._

_It's different with Mokuba though. You and I… I mean, we both took our shots at each other. And somehow we managed to get through it. Hn, none of the things you did to me even bother me in the least anymore. And I can tell… you feel the same way. But Mokuba hadn't done anything to make me mad… he just wouldn't go away. I was trying to protect him, but all I ended up doing was hurting him and betraying him. He'll never trust me again, I know it._

_Seto… he loves you. You believe that, don't you?_

_I… do._

_So how could he still love you if he hadn't forgiven you a long time ago? How could he love you if he doesn't trust you?_

Seto looked back up at Yami, whose crimson gaze, like a mirror, reflected the hurt he himself felt. _Then why didn't he tell me about Noa? _

_Why do you think?_

_It had to be Noa's idea. It doesn't surprise me that he'd betray me. Especially with all that venomous filth he spewed last night. Who does he think he is talking to me like that? He's no better than his old man._

Yami frowned. _I didn't catch most of what was said. But I heard enough of it. Noa was out of line. And so were you. But… it was a fight, so I can't say I'm surprised to see some low blows. You both said things that you didn't really mean._

_I didn't mean to choke him either…_

_I know. And you didn't, not really… He seemed physically fine this morning. _A sigh. _Seto, do you really think this was all Noa's doing?_

_Yes. I'm sure of it._

_So Mokuba is going along with it because what, he has no free will?_

_… If Mokuba trusts me like you said, then he couldn't have lied to me._

_Seto…_

Suddenly agitated, the brunette made a move to sit up. "Why would he lie to me? If he did, and I know he didn't… wouldn't that prove that he didn't trust me anymore? It had to be Noa… there's no other explanation."

"Even with the assumption that this was all Noa's idea, Mokuba still had to agree to go along with it. So at the very least, he deceived you by his inaction."

Seto's eyes momentarily flashed in anger, but that quickly faded into a look of bewilderment. If Mokuba wasn't being brainwashed or anything, and certainly there was no sign of that…

"Maybe he was afraid that he'd lose your approval if you found out. Maybe he was afraid that you'd react just as you have, fighting with Noa and stuff. I don't know," Yami said gently. "You'll have to ask him."

Seto grunted. It still didn't make sense. If Yami was right and Mokuba trusted him, then why would his little brother lie to him? Didn't Mokuba know that he would accept him unconditionally no matter what? Or had there been some truth to what Noa had said during their argument, that maybe Mokuba was outgrowing the need to be with him, that he'd rather spend his time with Noa instead? Mokuba was 14 now, almost 15. Maybe he thought he was an adult already, ready to make adult decisions. After all, by the time Seto was 15, he'd been running Kaiba Corp. for two years.

Just as the taller duelist thought his head was going to explode with so many jumbled thoughts, Yami had Seto's head back down in his lap and was rubbing at his temples and forehead, working away the worst of the pain until the pressure was tolerable once again.

_Yami…?_

_Hmm?_

_I don't want you to be sleeping in the other room any longer. I want you back in my room._

That put a smile on the former Pharaoh's face. _That's good. _

_… But… do you think that that's what gave… do you think we're, that I'M a bad influence?_

_No, we did not make your brothers gay. _Seto made a slight sound at that, but didn't stop Yami from completing the thought. _Now granted, we probably should learn to lock the doors, and maybe the kitchen is best served for just cooking, but then again, Mokuba could also learn to knock before barging into a room._

_But do you think… they're not, you know, messing around… right? I mean, if I thought they were… Noa would have been out the first night, but I… I think I'm pretty sure that… oh hell, that makes no sense!_

_Noa said they hadn't done anything._ Seeing Seto about to protest, Yami was quick to add, _And I believe him. You do too, because, as you yourself said, if you thought for a moment that Noa was doing anything inappropriate, you'd have kicked him out at the very least._

_You think I could have stopped all this from happening if I wasn't so busy with work?_

_What would you have done differently? You couldn't have kept an eye on him every moment of his life. And he wouldn't have wanted that either. Seto… stop blaming yourself for this._

_He's my responsibility!_

_I know. And I respect that. But he's his own person, and he has to make his own decisions, decisions that maybe you won't agree with. It's part of growing up._

Seto couldn't say much against that. He had been making his own decisions forever so it seemed. Mokuba had that same right. It was just hard to think that Mokuba wasn't a little kid anymore. It made him feel older than he was.

_I think you forget that you're only 20 sometimes…_ Yami said thoughtfully. _You're hardly old._

_I know. But… how 20 is supposed to feel? And it's just a number anyways. It doesn't change anything._

Yami nodded. _You've never let it stop you from doing what needed to be done, from making the decisions that you needed to make. I've always admired that about you. But, while we're on the subject of decisions… I still don't see why I'd be a distraction if I came with you on your trip. It really wouldn't be any different than the way we approach our relationship at home. Personally, I would think that it would be far more distracting if I weren't there._

_I plan on working very long hours, Yami. And I know you wouldn't approve. But it's getting so close to the opening; I need to focus all my energy on that._

Yami furrowed his brow. _Like I wouldn't be able to voice my disapproval over the phone?_

Seto gave the younger duelist a slight smile. _I'd just hang up, or block your calls._

_SETO! _ Yami gasped in faux outrage.

That earned a small chuckle out of the young CEO, but he grew silent after that as he carefully considered everything that his lover had just mentioned.

For his part, Yami just sat there quietly and let Seto sort things out. He would respect whatever decision Seto came up with now that he had said his piece, now that Seto was giving it some thought. That was all he had wanted.

Finally, Seto seemed to come to some sort of decision, and he rose back up to a sitting position to deliver his verdict. _Yami, it's not that I don't want you there with me, I do. And you're right. I'd miss you terribly, and you know I'm talking about more than just sex, right? I always want you with me, but… well… you'd look after Mokuba for me, wouldn't you?_

_Of course. But… I thought Mokuba was going with you? _Yami responded, though he felt his heart drop a little at what that meant for him. He had stayed behind with the younger Kaibas many times before, while Seto was away, but this time, the trip was far longer, and… things were different. It was more than just simply "babysitting."

_You were right; I do want Mokuba to finish up the school year here, where he's comfortable, and I need you to keep an eye on Noa too. Please, Yami… I don't want to do this either, but I don't trust anyone else in this the way I trust you,_ Seto added hastily, seeing the crestfallen look on Yami's face.

_Seto…_

Seto grabbed his boyfriend's hand and pressed a kiss onto Yami's palm. _I'll make it up to you, I swear._

_You can make it up to me by talking to Mokuba when you get home. And none of this hiding out in the office to avoid it either._

_Yami… I will. I promise. Anything you want._

_I just want to see you happy, Baby. And I want to see your dreams come true. Just… can you please open future theme parks in a more convenient location?_

_There won't be another one for at least a few more years. And by then, Mokuba would be an adult. You could probably all come with me, I guess._

_Ahh, good enough._

* * *

Yami left not too long after the end of their conversation as Seto had a conference call scheduled with some of the creative and engineering staff over at the new KaibaLand. And almost immediately after Yami walked out, the brunette wondered how he was going to survive almost two months without his boyfriend around.

_Hm. Boyfriend._ Yami was much more than just that. Even "lover" wasn't sufficient a label. For despite what Seto had said earlier, when he had told Yami that he wasn't Mokuba's anything, Yami was an integral a part of their "family." He was patience and rationality, content to play a supporting role, wanting only the best for all of them. He deserved so much. And Seto hadn't known what to do to thank him for all that, to show him how incredibly important he was… but he thought that maybe he had finally figured something out… a gesture which he hoped Yami would understand the significance of.

As late as Seto was for the conference call, that was something far more important that needed to be taken care of. So he asked Ms. Shiroi to apologize to the attendees of the conference call for the delay while he placed a call down to the legal department. He wanted them to start right away in drafting the documents needed to make Yami Mutou the co-legal guardian of Mokuba and Noa Kaiba.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:  
- Honestly, I don't know how easy / hard / quick / slow the process is to make someone a legal guardian of minors, so you'll have to bear with whatever contrivance I think of for that. I don't have kids; it never crossed my mind. But honestly I don't care to research deeper into the matter… this is my version of Domino, where no one bothers the eccentric billionaire shopping at the local grocery store, where no one wonders how the hell Noa, who was dead, suddenly reappears years later alive and well and only marginally older than when he died. So… peh.


	8. Ch 7: I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" is from the musical The Boy from Oz, by Peter Allen. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**Taboo**

**Ch. 7: I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love**

* * *

Mokuba thought it had to be the most excruciatingly slow school day of his life. It had been tolerable up until lunch time, as it was easier to dismiss what Noa was trying to say in favor of the teachers' lectures and the general buzzing of the classroom, but when their lunch break finally rolled around, he had run out of excuses.

"Come on, talk to me. Please…" Noa sighed once he caught up with Mokuba outside the fine arts wing. He had been trying to talk to Mokuba ever since Yami had dropped them off that morning, and was frustrated that his little brother had not uttered anything more than monosyllabic answers since the big fight with Seto the night before. He was worried about what Mokuba was thinking, and what he might have heard, and… was he having second thoughts about the two of them?

He should have kept his temper under control, but… it was inevitable that he and Seto would fight. They had been aching for it. It had ended badly of course - Noa had said things that he shouldn't have said, and Seto did something he shouldn't have done, and Mokuba had practically cried himself to sleep, but… well, it could have been far worse. Seto really could have hurt him badly, and he didn't. But… considering how Mokuba was acting, perhaps Noa hadn't gotten through the incident as unscathed as he thought. And Noa couldn't help thinking… if Mokuba really did reject him, that would hurt far worse than anything Seto could do. Still, Noa couldn't resist following the younger teen around like a lovesick puppy, hoping against hope that Mokuba was more confused than mad, or something like that.

"Mokuba…" Noa tried again. God, was Mokuba really going to ignore him all day? How many more classes were they going to have to sit through in silence? Would they even have another chance to talk once lunch was over? So he reached out and tugged at a strand of long hair insistently, not stopping even when Mokuba tried to bat his hand away. "Hey!"

The black-haired teen abruptly stopped and turned around, his eyes reminiscent of clouds gathering right before a thunderstorm. He sucked in a breath, and Noa, sensing a possible argument, quickly grabbed his brother's arm and dragged him around a corner and into a hallway, which provided a little privacy at least.

Mokuba took a quick look around and seeing few students nearby, whispered harshly at Noa, "Look, I don't want to talk right now, okay?"

"Why not? We have to talk sometime, and it's not like we can do it at home."

"Noa…"

"Please, Mokuba… I can't stand this. Are you mad at me, or at Seto, or… something like that?"

_Or something like that? _Mokuba made an uncomfortable sound. He had deliberately been trying to keep his mind off the argument from the night before, but in the face of Noa's question, he couldn't push it away any longer. Was he mad at Noa? He didn't really want to answer that. But if he had to be honest about it… yes, he was. Mokuba had heard more of the fight than he should've, had heard Noa tell Seto that maybe he liked spending time with Noa better, that he'd rather be with Noa. But that wasn't true… Noa had thrown those words out like a wild verbal swing, trying to hit Seto where it would hurt most. And just as Mokuba had heard Noa's angry words to Seto, he had heard his big brother's retort, that everything he had ever done, he had done for Mokuba. And he had done more than his best given what little he had to work with. So it hurt deeply to see Noa degrade that, as if everything Seto had ever done meant nothing, as if all his sacrifices were worthless… and all because of a fight?

Part of Mokuba still loved Noa, but even that side of him was starting to realize that he couldn't accept being with someone who'd hurt Seto. Yes, Seto was a strong person. He couldn't have accomplished all the things he had if he weren't. But behind that granite wall that he'd put between himself and the world, he was emotionally vulnerable. And he hadn't let many people get close to him. It had to have wounded him deeply to have someone like Noa - whom he had accepted into their lives - questioning his worth as a big brother, as if the childhood he had thrown away weren't enough, as if he should have done more. And that was unacceptable. It didn't matter that it had been a fight, and it didn't even matter that there undoubtedly had been more mudslinging going on than Mokuba was aware of - Noa had gone too far. And Seto… well, he had definitely toed that line, but now that Mokuba was over his initial shock of seeing what he saw last night, he realized… Seto _could_ have really hurt Noa, and didn't. He had actually held himself back. And Mokuba was proud of him for having done so.

But… he couldn't place all the blame on Noa either. Actually, Noa was only really at fault for the things he had said in his fight with Seto. No, Mokuba knew that ultimately, it was he who was responsible for things becoming as bad as they were. He should have listened to Noa and been honest with Seto from the start; he understood that now. That was what had started the whole mess. But he had been unable to think of a way to explain himself to Seto, thinking that his big brother wouldn't understand or accept their relationship, and had kept pushing off the reveal until it was too late. And now…

Mokuba looked over at Noa, who was standing there silently, waiting for a response. God, he wished he had Yami's ability to mind link to people… it had to be so much easier conveying emotions that way, since words were never quite enough. Perhaps that was why Yami was able to make things work with Seto. Or maybe it was the fact that Yami was just as pigheaded and stubborn as Seto. Certainly it was Yami who stated with grim determination that he'd go to Kaiba Corp. that morning and talk things through with Seto once and for all. And Mokuba hoped that the former Pharaoh would meet with at least some success because none of them wanted Seto to carry out his crazy plan to drag Mokuba to California with him to get the new theme park ready for opening. Not that Mokuba didn't want to go… hell, getting out of school early sounded pretty sweet, but to go without Noa AND Yami? That was awful!

_Oh God, what if that's the end of it? Like what if that's Seto's way of breaking up with Yami? _It seemed like a frighteningly real possibility now. _It would destroy Seto… I have to make sure it doesn't happen!_

"Mokuba?" Noa asked hesitantly, his voice barely audible above the background noise. He hadn't wanted to interrupt whatever internal monologue Mokuba had been carrying with himself, but the younger teen looked more and more distressed by the moment, and now… he looked like he was nearly on the verge of tears.

"What?" the black-haired teen croaked.

"Say something, anything… you're beginning to worry me."

Mokuba shuffled his feet a little before sullenly stating, "You were right. I should have told Seto the truth way back when."

"Um, okay…"

"But I guess it doesn't matter now. It doesn't matter how much I…" Mokuba hesitated, then said dully, "It's over. I'm sorry." It felt like boulders had been dropped on him with each word uttered. Jesus, he didn't think it would hurt so bad.

"Wha… why?" Noa gasped before realizing he should lower the volume of his voice. "Don't tell me that you… don't you care about _us_ anymore!"

"I do. Of course I do."

"Then WHY?"

"Noa… believe me, I never wanted to hurt you, ever." Mokuba's voice cracked a little. "But we can't go on like this, not at Seto's expense."

"So this is all because of the fight? I didn't mean to argue with Seto, but he started it!"

"Doesn't matter."

Noa hissed in frustration. "I don't understand. You could at least explain this to me. I'm not the one who was doing the choking!"

"Nii-sama could have done far worse, you know. But if you insisted on it, I'm sure he'd apologize for it."

"Mokuba!"

"I still care about you. And hell, you can even blame me for how things worked out – I deserve it." The look of pain on his face intensified. "But… you messed up too. You did something that I can't overlook. You hurt Seto, and you used me to do it – again! How could you do that to him? I thought we had gotten past that. But you made him question his role as my big brother, you made him think that he hasn't sacrificed enough for me, you made him worry that I'd LEAVE him… I wouldn't ever do that, and you know it!"

"I didn't…" Noa began to say, but he caught himself. Mokuba was glaring at him, ready to walk off if he even thought of denying it. "I'm sorry. If I said those things, I didn't mean it. He just made me so angry…"

"I'm sorry too. But I can't be with someone who'd do that to my nii-sama."

"Doesn't it matter what he said to me? You didn't hear the whole conversation. Don't you think he took some cheap shots too?"

"I'm sure he said some terrible things. I don't doubt that."

"And that doesn't matter?"

Mokuba sighed and shook his head sadly. "You can't use that as an excuse to justify what you did. Noa… don't you get it? Seto's given me so much and done so much for me… and you basically made it sound like nothing."

Noa's hands fisted. Maybe he shouldn't have said some of the things that he'd said; it was an argument, damn it! But Seto was just as guilty. So why was Mokuba defending him like some sort of saint? "Why is it always Seto this, Seto that, Seto can do no wrong? Even my father, whom he willingly saddled himself with… I never had a chance, did I? Seto just waltzed in and did whatever he wanted. I can't compete with him."

"It was never a competition."

"Like hell! Fuck this…" Noa half turned away, then turned back. "I thought I could trust you, Mokuba. I thought you cared. I thought that even if no one else wanted me, it was enough that you did." The hurt in his voice was reflected in his eyes.

A distressed squeak was all Mokuba managed for a second, then he breathed, "I did. I still do. But no one, not even you, could take Seto's place in my heart. You have to understand…"

"I understand all right. I'm in second place, as always. The first loser to cross the line. And who wants to be with a loser?" Noa ran his fingers through his hair angrily, then let out a short laugh eerily reminiscent of Seto's. "No wonder you didn't want to tell him… you were ashamed of me!"

"Never… it was never that. I just didn't… know what to say."

Noa suddenly shut up. Mokuba's eyes had gone misty. Somewhere in the background, the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. Suddenly looking defeated, the green-haired teen quickly mumbled, "I would have done anything for you. I still would. I wish you felt the same. I just wanted you to know that." He glanced distractedly at the clock. "Class."

"Yeah…"

"I'll… see you later." He bent down to pick up his backpack, giving Mokuba one last look before turning around and walking away.

"If it's any consolation, it wasn't really you... I'm the one who screwed things up from the start," Mokuba whispered at Noa's retreating back. "I should have told him…"

* * *

It was impossible to even consider going to class after that. What would be the point anyway? Why would he care about plants and photosynthesis and other pointless crap when he had just broken up with Noa, and was no closer to getting things resolved with Seto? So while Mokuba dazedly wondered about why life was so unfair, his feet carried him past his biology class and out the doors of the science wing, down the stairs and past the basketball courts. And then… he heard someone call out his name.

"Huh?" Mokuba looked around, trying to orient himself.

"I said, 'Hi, Mokuba.'"

So distracted was he that it took him a moment to recognize Noa's ex-"girlfriend" perched on one of the metal support beams that held up the bleachers. How'd he end up walking all the way out there? And why was she there too? "Yamato?"

She smiled slightly and nodded. "Ditching?"

Considering that he had walked right past his class... "Um… I guess."

"Me too. This is a pretty good spot to ditch to. Oh, and Kouya… you can come back out now. It's just your little 'boyfriend.' Or should I say, ex-boyfriend."

_Kouya?_ "I didn't know honor students ditched," he told the black-haired girl as she stepped out from the shaded recesses.

"I don't… not usually… just, I wanted to see Yamato, that's all." She blushed faintly.

"Ahh…" Mokuba responded, not sure of what else to say. It seemed like nothing from that past Friday's events had affected them at all. He wished he had gotten off so lucky.

As if reading the direction of his thoughts, Yamato cocked her head and asked thoughtfully, "Hey kid, so… what happened after we left? Did you get grounded or anything? Your big brother looked really steamed, and he's kinda scary like that, if you don't mind my saying."

"After you left… the shit hit the fan," Mokuba answered glumly.

"Hmm? Was it that bad?"

"Worse."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Kouya sincerely.

"Yeah," Yamato added.

Mokuba swallowed hard. "Um, I didn't get you guys in trouble too, did I?" he asked. He hoped the answer was no… he'd feel even worse if they had gotten busted by their families too.

Yamato shook her head. "Nah, Kouya told her folks that you were shy, and that's why you didn't walk her to the door. And my parents weren't even home."

"But what if you family had found out? Then what?"

"Would it matter?" The blonde snorted. "So I'd get yelled at and grounded and told that I was immoral and going to hell. So what? The moment I turned 18, I'd be so out of there. Then they couldn't tell me what to do. We'd get an apartment and everything, right Kouya?"

"I couldn't ever do that," Mokuba said, aghast at the thought of leaving Seto like that. He couldn't even begin to fathom things getting so bad that he'd have to take it to such extremes.

"Well, you _could,_ but… nah, you're a good kid. I like that about you. Noa too."

Mokuba almost wanted to tell her what had happened – after all, she was just blurting out her opinion without a care in the world – but so much had happened, and it really wasn't her business anyway…

"So what is your brother's objection anyways? You're too young, Noa's your stepbrother, you should be straight… hmm?"

"I…" Mokuba shrugged helplessly. Since he hadn't actually talked to Seto about it, he really wasn't sure. "I think… it's mostly that I didn't tell him the truth."

She shrugged. "No biggie. He'll get over it."

"No he won't, at least, not like that. You don't know how my brother is."

"Huh. You really telling me that you never lied to him? _Ever?_" Yamato laughed. "I don't believe it."

Mokuba went to deny it, then realized, he had no right to do so. Once or a hundred times over, a lie was still a lie. And he had perpetuated it for months. "I should have told him. He deserved to know."

"Please. What if you had, and he told you to stay away from Noa?"

"If that was his decision, I would have done as he asked."

"You know… not that it's really any of my business," Yamato continued on airily, though she was thinking that she had figured out what the younger teen was leaving unsaid, "but nothing says that you HAVE to choose between your big brother and your boyfriend…"

"Huh?"

"You're really close to your big brother. Must be nice. I'm kinda jealous." Yamato smiled faintly and put her hands behind her head. "You'd do anything for him, right?"

"Of course!"

"And he'd do anything for you too I bet," Kouya said, picking up on the conversation.

Mokuba nodded in agreement, absolutely certain of that.

"So would he _really_ force you to choose between him and Noa if he knew how you truly felt? You think he'd want to make you unhappy?" Yamato chided.

"No… he wouldn't…"

The blonde senior grinned and put her hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "You should talk to him then and tell him what you just told me. If he's as great as you say he is, he'll get over it. Really – trust me on this. No reason you can't have both of them in your life . It's not like it's MY family we're talking about here." She winked. "Oh, and you might want to make up with Noa too while you're at it. You don't really want it to end like this, do you?

He looked up, startled. "How'd you know that Noa and I…"

"Silly, girls just know this stuff! Besides… you should see yourself. You look like someone either broke your heart, or ran over your dog. And as far as I know, you don't have a dog."

"But… I think I really hurt him."

"If Noa really loves you, it won't matter," Kouya replied sagely. "Same applies to your older brother. All relationships have their ups and downs. Even Yamato and I get into disagreements sometimes."

Mokuba began to protest, then caught himself. Why was he arguing back? Didn't he want to make up with both Seto and Noa? He already knew that he had to explain things to Seto, and soon. Perhaps the girls were right. Not that they were saying anything revolutionary, just… they made sense. _If I had approached it like this in the beginning, with Nii-sama… I bet things would have never gotten so out of control._

Seto would forgive him, no matter how hurt he was by the deception. Noa, on the other hand… _No, what am I doing? Kouya and Yamato are right; no more running away from this! If Noa loves me, he won't just walk away from me. He'd give me a second chance. But… we have a lot that we need to talk about. And I have a lot to apologize for._

If Seto and Yami could try and work through their problems to hold on to their relationship, there was no reason that he and Noa couldn't do the same. If nothing else, none of them were quitters. Kaibas stuck it out until the bitter end.

"Ah, I see the light bulb going off in your head," Yamato said smugly. "We making sense to you now?"

Mokuba managed a crooked half-smile. "Yeah, I think so…"

"It'll be okay, kiddo. You'll see. You'll thank me for it later…"

"Oh, I don't think young Mr. Kaiba will be thanking you any time soon, Miss Nakano…" a male voice interjected. All three teens turned to find the principal, Mr. Maeda, standing there with arms folded, peering at them from over the rim of his glasses. "Allergic to class are we?"

Kouya just put her face in her hands while Yamato pasted on a strained smile and greeted the man with, "Oh, hiiiiiiiii…"

"Yes. Hi. The three of you have detention."

* * *

Seto began winding down his workday at 5:00 so that he'd be home by 6:00. As promised, there would be no hiding in the office… he was going to go home and talk to Mokuba and get the whole hellish mess straightened out one way or another. But he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't dreading it. He didn't want to hear Mokuba say, "I didn't tell you because I didn't trust you," or, "You weren't around, so I figured it didn't matter. It's not like you noticed anyway." It was funny… he could face an auditorium full of people and not give a damn about anything they had to throw in his face, but the thought of being faced with his brother's judgement was nearly enough to stop his heart.

The drive home went blindingly fast. Seto even checked the speedometer to make sure he wasn't hitting the gas a little harder than he should. In a way, he supposed he was eager to get home and just "get things over with." But… he was trying to remain optimistic. That was what Yami had been trying to impress on him; after all, the ex-spirit had been pestering him the whole afternoon, trying to keep his spirits up. At least he had managed to keep his guardianship plans under wraps for the moment, not wanting to ruin the surprise early. Once the paperwork was finalized, and a legal hearing was conducted and the papers filed, Yami truly would become a member of their family in every way.

_Hmm… family… _For so long, it had been just him and Mokuba. But he could no longer confine his concerns to just the two of them. Yami and Noa both had to be taken into account as well, and even though Yami hadn't said anything about it, Seto knew he had to talk to his stepbrother as well. He couldn't just have him living there with them if he couldn't trust him and didn't know where he stood. Seto hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet, but if things didn't get better between all four of them immediately, he was going to suspend the opening of the theme park and remain in Domino until things improved. As a business decision, it would be completely irresponsible – he'd lose face, the company would take a sizable hit, rumors would fly. But as the big brother and the head of the household, it was the only logical course of action he could take.

Then before he knew it, he was on the familiar streets leading up to his house, and through the front gates and onto the sweeping driveway. But as he pulled under the porte-cochere, he saw an unexpected sight. There wasn't just one figure sitting in the shady patch of grass by the drive, but two. Kuriboh he expected; he was just a dumb animal that had formed some weird attachment to him, but Mokuba was there as well, petting the pony's thick mane that so resembled his own unruly hair. He stood up as Seto began opening the car door, meeting his big brother's rather astonished look with an indescribable one of his own.

"Mokuba…" Seto murmured. Perhaps his little brother was ready to talk to him too?

"Hi Nii-sama, how was your day?" the black-haired teen asked, his voice a little strained. He went and held the door open for Seto and even fetched the briefcase from the passenger's seat afterwards.

Seto felt a strange pang upon seeing that; Mokuba used to greet him after work and take in his briefcase every day, but after Yami moved in, he started doing it less frequently until he didn't even bother coming out anymore. He had been barely more than a bright-eyed boy then… but now, now he was in that moody, awkward stage between childhood and adult. And Seto couldn't figure out how his little brother had grown up so quickly.

"Nii-sama, I need to talk to you," Mokuba said slowly.

"Yeah… same here."

The brothers stared at each other for a long moment, then Seto turned towards the front stairs, Mokuba falling into step beside him. Neither one uttered another word as they headed into the house, shutting the door softly behind them.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:   
- Well, I must say I hadn't planned on breaking Noa and Mokuba up… but I couldn't see any other direction for them to go, because how could Mokuba be with someone that was using him to hurt Seto like that? I look forward to any hate that may get heaped upon me :)  
- Re: Loveless. It occurred to me while writing Mokuba and Yamato's conversation that Mokuba reminded me of Ritsuka. Or maybe the way that Yamato related to him reminded me of Loveless episode 10, when she and Ritsuka had coffee (and they ditched school for it). I just loved her flippant attitude and the way that she'd badmouth Seimei (Ritsuka's beloved older brother... heheh, I said "Beloved") and Ritsuka would come back and yell at her, and the way she was half "big sis" and half tease (and of course she was fighting her own demons, but she'd put on a cheerful façade when Ritsuka was present).  
- Tie-ins: Subtle I guess, but just as Seto couldn't concentrate on a meeting (fuck projected attendance!) while thinking of everything going on, Mokuba couldn't concentrate on school (photosynthesis and other pointless crap). Also Mokuba coming out to greet Seto and take his briefcase in – I had a scene like that back in "Shades of You and Me," and realized that somewhere along the way, Mokuba more or less stopped doing that.


	9. Ch 8: Come to Your Senses

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "Come to Your Senses" is from the musical Tick, Tick… Boom, by Jonathan Larson. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

**Taboo**

**Ch. 8: Come to Your Senses**

* * *

Yami gave Mokuba and Seto a few minutes to get in and head upstairs, then wandered up himself in search of Noa. The younger teen had come home in a strange mood, silent and morose, not unlike Seto when his day at the office had gone badly. And Yami figured he knew a thing or two about how to deal with the brooding type. Besides, Mokuba had been very un-Mokuba-like as well, so Yami reasonably assumed something must have happened between them during the school day, and just as he couldn't leave Seto alone to deal with whatever was going on, he wasn't going to do the same to Noa.

He found the green-haired teen curled up on his bed, legs tucked up, arms around his knees. He looked like he had lost his best friend. Maybe he did.

Yami knocked lightly against the doorframe. "Hey."

"I'm not hungry," Noa mumbled.

"That's good. I didn't make anything yet."

Noa lifted his head slightly, just enough to slant Yami a look. "I don't want to talk about it."

"About what?" Yami asked casually.

"Don't ask."

"I just did."

Noa's eyebrows knit together. Just who did Yami think he was, trying to butt in on something that had nothing to do with him? He was no relationship expert. Hell, he'd been kicked out of his bedroom for Mokuba! "You know, you'll never mean as much to Seto as Mokuba does. You'll always be in second place," he said, sneering.

Strangely, Yami didn't seem to react, other than to take a few steps towards the bed. "I don't see that as being a problem," he answered thoughtfully, his calm appearance hiding the fact that he was rather curious as to where this was all going.

"You're shitting me. How can that not be a problem? Or is the sex so good that you don't even care?" Noa snapped.

Crimson eyes narrowed slightly. "You know that's not true," Yami said, but seeing nothing but a challenging anger in Noa's eyes, he sighed. "You really don't understand it, huh? This isn't some sort of competition. I've always known that Mokuba is the most important person in Seto's life - I expected it, and I love him for it. How could I be with someone who'd push aside the person that meant the most to them, just to be with me? I wouldn't want to be with someone like that. And in the same way, Seto understands and accepts that Yugi's well-being is my primary concern."

Noa shook his head as if dismissing what the older teen was saying. "Sounds to me like you're both just deluding yourselves - I don't see how that can work. Or are you both so desperate that that's good enough for you?"

"Did you hear anything that I said? Neither one of us is 'settling.' I could not hope for anything more from a lover. And I know Seto feels the same. By the gods, you even helped to set us up," Yami ground out, letting that memory hold back some of the anger he was beginning to feel.

"Yeah, I did. Seto needed to get laid."

"Damn it, you honestly think that that is all there is between us! Just sex?" the crimson-eyed teen snarled.

"Yes. No. I don't know!" Noa snapped. "Why'd you come in here anyways? Seto wanting you to keep a closer eye on me?"

Yami smiled grimly. "I came up here because I noticed that you were upset, even more so than before. And I thought maybe you'd want someone to talk to. But if all you're intending to do is yell at me, I'll leave." And he began to turn around.

"Whatever. I didn't ask you to come give me a pep talk you know. You think you're like my mom or dad or something, but you're not!"

The former Pharaoh stopped in his tracks, and looked back at Noa as if he had just been reminded of how young the seething teen really was. It was a sobering realization. It really had slipped his mind that Noa was just a kid – and an orphaned one at that – being raised by a man who was barely older than him, one that had once been a hated enemy. One who had moved into his home, stolen away his father's attention, taken over the company that he was meant to inherit… and now, was forcibly separating him from the one person he truly felt close to.

"No, I'm not, but that doesn't mean I don't care," Yami said slowly, turning to look Noa in the eye. "Seto didn't ask me to come talk to you, or watch over you. I came in here because… look, Noa, you and Mokuba are almost like brothers to me. Maybe we're not a conventional family, but… you belong here just as much as I do." Seeing Noa about to make a quick comeback, Yami hastily added, "Believe me, if Seto thought otherwise, you'd be long gone by now."

"Then why is he…" Noa gave a low growl, then blurted out, "Mokuba broke up with me earlier."

Yami went and sat himself carefully at the edge of the bed, an arm's span away from Noa. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I don't want your sympathy!"

Yami fought the sudden urge to smile. Noa really was a lot more like Seto than either one of them realized, but he figured he ought to be grateful of that fact. It made him a little easier to deal with. "All right then. But would you at least consider listening to my advice?"

"I don't see what you could possibly say or do that would make things better. You can't even get things sorted out with your own boyfriend who, may I remind you, is choosing to leave you here while he goes off to America with Mokuba."

The ex-spirit scratched his chin. "Actually… he changed his mind."

"He did?" Noa was a little surprised. Sure, Yami had told them of his plan to talk to Seto at work earlier in the day, but he didn't think that anything would change because of it. "So…?"

"Seto's going alone. All three of us are staying behind."

"I don't see how that's better for you two."

"Well… I can't say I was really thinking of myself when I agreed to it," Yami pointed out, watching the younger teen carefully for any sign of understanding. Noa still seemed a bit too angry to understand, but then he sucked in a quick breath and his hands unclenched a little, and Yami knew he was finally listening. "You and Mokuba both have a little over a month left of school. So it makes sense for you two to stay in Domino, at least until summer vacation. But as mature as you both are, it would be irresponsible of us to have you stay here alone."

"You… really…" Noa's voice trailed off momentarily. "I… shouldn't have gotten mad at you earlier. Sorry. It's just… I don't know what to do now that Mokuba's decided we can't be together."

"I think… well, Mokuba needs to settle things with Seto first. Then we'll see. But there's no reason why you two can't patch things up if Seto learns to accept it."

Noa let out a short, exhausted laugh. "Seto first, huh? As always… Maybe being second best is enough for you, but it's not enough for me."

Yami shook his head and tried a slightly different approach because Noa really wasn't getting it. Perhaps he'd only understand once he had the opportunity to learn it for himself, and for that, he needed to make up with Mokuba. "If you love Mokuba - and I know you do – don't you want what's best for him? Shouldn't his happiness be more important than anything, even more than your own?"

"Yeah…" The green-haired teen pursed his lips. "I guess so. I mean, I'd literally do anything for him…"

"So even though you think it's unfair that he puts Seto's needs above yours, would you turn him away if he came back to you? Would you break his heart like that?"

Noa blinked. "I wouldn't ever want to hurt him. If I did, I didn't mean it…"

"So then you'd be willing to work with what you have, little as it may seem to you, and build things from there? Building a relationship requires risk taking and effort. So are you up to the challenge? Are you going to take that chance? Or is he not really worth it?"

"Yes! Of course he is… I told you, I'd do anything for him!"

A slow smile spread across the former Pharaoh's face. "Then stop feeling sorry for yourself… things can still work out between you two. Believe me."

Noa wanted to argue back, but… he was so tired of it all. Perhaps Yami was being unreasonably optimistic, but his optimism was certainly better than the alternative. Noa glanced over at Yami's encouraging smile. The crimson-eyed teen was a pretty good person to talk to. He listened, and… he seemed to understand. So maybe it was a bit of leftover honesty and a growing sense of trust that prompted Noa to say the next thing that he did. "You know, I don't remember… if my father ever told my mother he loved her. Actually, I don't think he did. He never really had anything nice to say to her. They fought a lot, often about me."

Yami scooted over, closing the space between the two of them, and placed his hand gently on Noa's shoulder. "Sorry to hear that," he said, and he meant it.

The younger teen looked at him with wide eyes. "You and Seto argue sometimes too, but… it's kinda different," Noa wondered aloud. "At least, well… he has told you that he loves you, right?"

Yami smiled at the memory. Seto had thought he was asleep at the time, or at least incoherent enough to not remember it, but he had said it all the same, and Yami had caught it right before falling asleep. "He has. And while it would be nice if he felt more comfortable saying it, it's not really necessary, because I see it in his eyes, I hear it in his voice, I feel it…"

"Okay, okay… I get it." Noa rolled his eyes, but he was smiling a little too. "Geez, been reading romance novels much?"

Yami folded his arms. "… Noa."

The younger teen shrugged in a half-hearted apology, then his smile wilted a bit. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want to end up like my parents. I'd rather be in a relationship like the one you and Seto have, even if I don't get how you guys manage to make it work. You think Mokuba and I… could really ever feel that strongly about each other?"

"Don't you feel that way already?"

"I do..."

"And Mokuba?"

Noa didn't answer for a while, then said, "I thought he did."

"Then he does still. That's something even Seto can't change. Have faith in him."

* * *

Mokuba ended up accompanying Seto to his office without another word exchanged between them. But they didn't need to speak to know that it would be best to have their talk in a neutral yet familiar environment, and the office seemed the most logical choice…

Once the door was shut behind them, Mokuba figured it was time for him to finally explain himself. He still didn't want to, but he wasn't going to back out now that he had initiated it. So he took in a deep breath and began to say, "Nii-sama, I wanted…" just as Seto started saying, "Look, Mokuba…"

They both stopped, looked at each other, and then, as if they were mimicking one another, each motioned for the other to continue. The corner of Seto's mouth twitched in momentary amusement. "Go on, Mokuba," he encouraged.

"I, um…" Mokuba haltingly began. At Seto's expectant look, he took a moment to compose himself, then said, "I wanted to say… Nii-sama… I should have told you. I shouldn't have hidden the truth from you. But I didn't know what to say, and… well… I dunno. I just… God, Seto, don't hate me."

"How could I ever hate you?" the brunette asked, aghast.

"I didn't mean it like that, I just… I wish I didn't disappoint you. You deserve better."

"Disappointed? I'm not disa…" Seto suddenly took a step back, uncertainty in his eyes. Did Mokuba really think that he'd be so fickle in his loyalties that he'd let something like this divide them? Yes, he was hurt that he'd lost Mokuba's trust, but he couldn't really say he was surprised by it. He deserved it.

"Yes you are. You have to be. You've always been honest with me. But I wasn't being honest with you."

"Mokuba…"

"It… didn't start off as a lie," the black-haired teen continued, becoming almost eager in his rush to get everything out before he lost the courage to do so. "We just didn't tell you. I didn't know how. And then we met the girls and we kinda thought we could use each other to go out and all that… and then we told you they were our girlfriends so it wouldn't seem suspicious, and that's when it became a lie. Worse yet… Noa knew it was wrong. He wanted to tell you. And I wouldn't let him."

Seto shook his head, as if his brother were speaking in tongues. "Wait… Noa wanted… he wanted to tell me?"

"Yes," Mokuba mumbled. He could feel unwanted tears threatening to well up, blurring his vision momentarily. If Seto wasn't disappointed before, he had to be now. But a surprisingly gentle hand alighted on his cheek and slowly lifted his chin.

"Why didn't you want to tell me?"

"… You're… not mad?"

"At you? Never."

"I… I thought you'd be mad. And I knew you wouldn't approve…"

Seto opened his mouth, then shut it, then opened it again to blurt out, "You didn't think I'd approve because you didn't trust me, how I'd react to it. Because you're afraid of me."

"No! Of course I trust you! And I'm not afraid of you at all! But… well, maybe I was a little worried about how'd you react. 'Cause I thought you'd blame Noa for it, like he had done something wrong."

"Hn. Maybe you were right not to trust me then. Look at what I did last night." God, it hurt to think how badly he'd screwed up… again!

"Nii-sama… you didn't mean it."

"You don't accidentally try to choke someone! Fuck… I don't know what I was thinking! I didn't actually want to hurt him, but I was so mad. He said… he said he'd take you away from me. Not that… I'd expect you to stay here forever, and certainly not on my account, but…"

"I told you before… I won't ever leave you, if that's what you want. I'll always be here for you!" Mokuba exclaimed, then his voice dropped in timbre. "And… I DO trust you. I always will." He hesitated for a moment, then plunged ahead. "I know… nothing can change the past. But it's okay. I've never held it against you."

"Mokuba… I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be. Why are you apologizing when I'm the one that screwed up this time?"

"Because… I betrayed you first. And it was much worse than a simple lie. So how could you possibly trust me again?"

"It's simple. It's because I love you."

The young billionaire's breathing grew harsh, and his eyes darkened slightly. "… You say that so easily, as if what I did was no big deal. I'll never understand it."

"I wish I could make you understand. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. But… couldn't you perhaps try and accept it, at least?"

"How can I when I can't ever forgive myself!"

"But I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago. Doesn't that count for anything? I love you, Nii-sama. You're a much better person than you give yourself credit for. You still believe in me despite what I've done. And I'm very sorry that I lied to you and made you question how I feel about you. It was stupid of me; I made a mistake. I should have listened to Noa. I should have listened to my own heart. But I knew you'd disapprove, and I didn't want to lose Noa… I was being so selfish."

Seto grew silent. He knew Mokuba meant what he said. He could see the earnestness in his eyes. But it was a relief actually hearing it from him. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, though some of the burden still remained. It was all right he supposed… he could never forget or forgive himself for what he had done. And that was how it ought to be. But Mokuba said he wasn't holding it against him, that he still loved him and trusted him, which was more than he could have hoped for. Maybe someday, he'd even learn to simply accept it, just as Mokuba said.

However, he didn't have time to worry about his own problems when Mokuba was still plagued by unresolved issues. "So then… why did you think I wouldn't approve?" Seto asked, methodically returning to the conversation as he leaned his hip against the edge of his desk. "Because… Noa's a guy? Or because you consider Noa to be your brother? Or because… just because it's Noa?""

"But he's _no_t my brother! I mean, I know that'd be wrong. Well, I mean, if he really were, I wouldn't have approached him in the first place."

Seto sighed, then started. "Wait… YOU approached him?"

Mokuba took a shaky breath, then nodded slowly. "Did you really think that Noa would've made a move first? It wasn't that he wasn't interested, he just wasn't sure how I felt about it. I think… maybe he thought it would have ruined things between us if he had taken that step." Then he looked back up at his brother. "He was worried about how you'd react, too. He thought… you'd make us break up, that you'd send him away… but it doesn't matter now."

Seto just stared at the teen for a long minute. There was… so much to think about. Mokuba had approached Noa? So the relationship... it was mutual? Not just mutual, but… Mokuba wanted to be with Noa? Why? It was true that they'd become very close very quickly, maybe more quickly than Seto himself felt comfortable with, but he always knew that Mokuba was a better judge of character than he was, so he hadn't questioned it. He thought they became fast friends because Noa was essentially Mokuba's age, and that Mokuba liked having a buddy around. Never did it occur to him that they'd be interested in each other. The subject of their sexual orientation never came up. Hell, the subject of _sex_ never came up. He hadn't thought… well, Mokuba and Noa weren't THAT grown up yet, right? Did they really need to know that sort of…

_God, I keep thinking he's a little kid. But he's not… not even close. _Why was it so hard to reconcile the mental image of the little boy who'd eagerly follow him around with the somber adolescent now standing before him? Mokuba was no longer a child. Seto knew that, and yet… he was having a hard time remembering it. The black-haired teen wasn't like Kuriboh the pony, fated to remain cute and tiny, but more like a young colt hitting his growth spurt, all long limbs and awkward in carriage. He had to grow up someday, regardless if Seto was ready for it or not. And he was already at least as tall as, or more likely even taller, than Yami. Seto had the vague thought that perhaps that was even one of Yami's t-shirts that Mokuba was wearing. Had he grown so quickly that even his clothes couldn't keep pace with him?

_What? _Seto silently berated himself for mentally wandering off topic. What else had Mokuba been saying? Noa had been worried that he'd send him away? Well, he hadn't done that; he had definitely considered it, but it didn't happen. It was true that he had broken them up in a fashion, but… "Wait… you said something about it not mattering anymore. Why not? I technically haven't decided anything yet." Wow, even _he_ couldn't believe he just said that. Was he actually going to consider giving his approval to such an unlikely relationship? But Mokuba seemed to want it so badly…

"What do you mean? What decision?"

"Well, I didn't say I was going to make you break up with him."

"Wha… Are you crazy?"

_Maybe._ "I didn't say I'd let you stay together either, I'm just saying that…"

Mokuba's lower lip began trembling, then he reluctantly said, "Well, it's not something you have to worry about anymore, because… I've already ended it. Told him today."

"You did?"

"Yeah…"

Seto scratched his head. Did they decide it wasn't worth pursuing, push come to shove and all that? If that was the case, maybe they were better off not being together. He didn't want his little brother with someone lacking in dedication. Or did it have something to do with the fight the previous night? That was a possibility. Or had something else happened? Regardless, he had to know. "Why?"

"Because… you were so upset about it. And I was responsible for that. I can't stand seeing you unhappy, Nii-sama. I had to do something! Plus, Noa said some terrible things to you last night… things that weren't true, things that aren't forgivable."

None of those things touched on how Mokuba felt however. "But… did YOU want to break up with him?"

"I did it for you," Mokuba answered in a small voice.

"But what do you want? Mokuba?"

"I just want… I want whatever you want. I did it for you," he repeated.

Seto was baffled. "But why?" It didn't make sense… why would Mokuba think that he had to do anything for him?

"Damn it, Nii-sama… I just didn't want you to break up with Yami!"

The brunette blinked. That was quite a jump in subject matter. "I'm not breaking up with Yami. Why would you think that? And what does that have to do with you and Noa?"

"But… you…" Mokuba's voice trailed off for a moment. He had been so sure… "You guys have been fighting, and you kicked him out of your room for me, and you're taking me to America and leaving Yami behind, and…"

Seto sighed and rubbed at his forehead, trying to think of the best way to explain things. "I have something to show you," he finally decided to say. Might as well show Mokuba first as it had a lot to do with him. Actually… he should have consulted Mokuba before he even considered it, for it was too big a decision to make alone, and it did primarily affect him. "I'll be right back."

Mokuba frowned as his brother left the room. What in the world? Was he going to get Yami or… no, he said it was some_thing… _What could it be? Mokuba considered everything from a boarding school brochure to plane tickets for all four of them to California. Really, given the way Seto's mind worked, anything was possible. He just hoped it wasn't anything bad.

An eternity seemed to go by before Seto returned, a slim stack of papers in his hand. He looked slightly nervous as he silently held them out to Mokuba, who accepted them with some trepidation. Taking a deep breath, the black-haired teen finally looked down, dreading what he might…

_Oh. My. God! _Mokuba sucked in another breath as he quickly took in what was laid out before him: a draft of a petition to make Yami his and Noa's co-legal guardian. "Are you serious? Nii-sama…"

Seto frowned, unsure of what to make of his brother's reaction. "I know I should have talked to you first, but I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't think you'd object. It's just a draft. Yami doesn't know yet, so it's not too late to…"

"Nii-sama, I'm not objecting," Mokuba interrupted hastily, seeing the direction that Seto's thoughts were taking him. "It's awesome! Really! It'll be like… Yami will really become part of our family. Not that I need a court document to tell me that, but… um, you know what I mean, right?"

"I'm glad you approve," Seto said simply, his eyes softening in relief. "And yeah, I don't need some judge to tell me Yami belongs here, but… I wanted…" Seto faltered, then shrugged. He didn't quite know how to convey what he was thinking, but Mokuba was nodding as if he understood. "He means a lot to me," he ended up saying.

"I was afraid you were gonna break up with him."

"I didn't."

"Yeah, but it looked kind of bad there, for a little bit. I thought… maybe you considered it."

"Did I think about it?" Seto mulled that over, then shrugged again. He might as well be honest if he expected Mokuba to be honest in return. "Yes."

Mokuba bit back the response dancing at the tip of his tongue. He wanted to chide his brother for saying something so foolish, but he knew that it was true. Seto would do anything for him, had always done everything for him. He'd give up Yami in a heartbeat if he thought he had to. But it was time for Seto to understand that just as he wanted the best for Mokuba, Mokuba wanted the same in return for him. It was just a matter of wording it in a way that Seto would comprehend and accept.

Finally, Mokuba said, "You used to be so different; you wouldn't eat, you wouldn't sleep… you were so stressed and unhappy. Then Yami came along and things really changed for the better. He's helped you deal with work, and us, and with, well… everything! I never knew that being in a relationship could make such a difference, but it has. And the two of you taught me that. So I don't even want to think about you breaking up with Yami, ever! Your happiness means everything to me, and it makes me happy too."

Seto silently absorbed that information, then gave Mokuba a slow smile, one that made the younger teen hesitantly smile back. No matter how often he saw it, there was something wonderful about seeing that expression on his sibling's face.

But there was something that Seto needed to correct his brother on. "What you forgot Mokuba, is that I need you to be happy too. For yourself. When it comes down to it, it's the only thing that really matters to me." His smile faded a little. "So please… don't ever think you have to hide anything from me. I'll never reject you. I'll never be disappointed in you. You'll always be my little brother, no matter who you choose to be with, or what you do. Though… I _hope_ you're not getting any ideas from what Yami and I do when… well, you know…"

Mokuba eyed his brother. "We didn't have sex. We didn't even come close."

"That's… good."

The black-haired teen shuffled his feet a little. "Did you really mean what you said though, that… well, maybe Noa and I could… date? Sorta? I mean, not like… not like you and Yami. No one else would know, for one thing. I know it would cause problems."

"Well, I can't make any promises yet, but… I'll think about it." Seto reached a hand out to ruffle Mokuba's hair just a bit. "You still want to be with him, don't you?" he stated.

"He was asking for all or nothing. I can't do that." Mokuba sighed. "I guess… I need him to understand that. And accept it. But I want to try again, at least… that's if you're okay with it."

"We'll have to see. I guess I should talk to him again." At Mokuba's slightly panicked look, Seto added, "Talk, not argue or fight."

"… Okay."

"And maybe you should stay… to play referee. Just in case," Seto conceded.

A quick nod. "I can do that."

The brunette tilted his head back and took a deep breath. "Well, no time like the present… come on, let's go." And he pushed away from the desk he'd been leaning against, and headed for the door.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:  
- Hmm, you'd think after all this, I'd have a lot to say, but I don't. Really. I think I'm all talked out after writing this.


	10. Ch 9: As Long As You’re Happy

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "As Long As You're Happy" is from the musical Nick & Nora, by Charles Strouse and Richard Maltby, Jr. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

**

* * *

**

Taboo

**Ch. 9: As Long As You're Happy**

* * *

Noa rather reluctantly followed Yami to Seto's office, where the two brothers were seated at the project table, waiting for him. Seto motioned for Noa to sit in the seat across from the two of them, and the green-haired teen couldn't help but think it was almost like they were conducting a business meeting, only this was his personal life that they were going to be discussing. He wondered if it would be a one-on-one session, but Mokuba wasn't getting up from his seat - which was fine. It was probably even safer that way, considering the look on Seto's face wasn't quite warm or welcoming.

As Noa slid into the proffered seat, he heard Yami's feet shifting on the carpet behind him, and realized that the former Pharaoh wasn't going to stay. That was fine too. It didn't really involve him, despite what he might have thought.

Seto's gaze shifted away from Noa and went up over his head. "Wait, Yami," he called out.

"Hmm?"

The young CEO suddenly rose to his feet and reached out to snag Yami's arm, then tugged his lover close enough to get a hand behind his head and guide him into a kiss. Mokuba grinned slightly at the sight, relief evident on his face, while Noa's brow furrowed in confusion.

_What the hell?_ the green-haired teen wondered. Perhaps Yami had done a better job patching things up with Seto than he'd expected. But he still had his doubts. It seemed too easy, and Seto was hardly the easiest person in the world to deal with. _Still… that's one helluva kiss..._

"There's something I need to show you," Seto murmured, his lips still brushing lightly against Yami's as if he couldn't bear to be apart from him for even a moment.

"Mm?"

Mokuba slid over the guardianship draft he'd been holding on to, watching intently as Yami glanced down, his eyes immediately lighting up in understanding.

"… Baby…" Yami breathed, hope and joy mingling with disbelief on his face. "You… want…"

"I told you, I trust you."

Yami seemed totally lost for a moment; he didn't even know what to do with the documents or where to put his hands.

A small smile touched Seto's lips. It wasn't often that he could throw Yami off guard like that, though… now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he was reading him correctly either. Yami seemed pleased by the news, but there was a faint hint of… uncertainty? Or was it just surprise? He didn't want his boyfriend to feel obligated to go along with it if that wasn't something he wanted, so he touched Yami's wrist lightly. "That's just a draft. You don't have to accept you know; it won't change a thing, but…"

"… you know I will," Yami finished for him, finally finding his voice again. The brunette essentially was handing him his soul on a platter; how could he refuse? It was unexpected though… for all of Seto's ranting about how marriage was just a legal matter and had nothing to do with emotions or commitment, Yami figured he'd feel the same about something like this, but then again, this was as much about protecting the interests of the younger pair as it was about acknowledging the role that Yami played.

"Accept what?" Noa asked, confused. He had no clue what was on the papers, but whatever it was, Mokuba seemed mighty pleased about it, and Seto and Yami looked like they were on the verge of making out over it. So it had to be something big.

Yami smiled sheepishly and finally handed the documents over to the curious teen who glanced over it quickly, his jaw dropping a little when he realized what it was. It shouldn't have surprised him, really… after all, Yami already had been doing everything a guardian would do. This would just make it legal. And yet, he had never really expected Seto to acknowledge that on paper. The young billionaire was a businessman and dealt with contracts everyday. He didn't like bringing that sort of thing into his personal life. Certainly he must already have provisions in his will to ensure that everyone would be taken care of, just in case. It was a practical thing to do. It should have been enough. So then, why bother with this?

Noa thought back to what Yami had said only minutes prior. He had been so certain of Seto's love for him despite the fact that he wasn't even the most important person in Seto's life. Noa had questioned his sanity. But, judging from the way that Yami and Seto were playing tongue tag once again, maybe he was wrong.

"Ahem." The green-haired teen cleared his throat, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. The two lovers reluctantly separated, their eyes slightly glazed over. Fine, so Seto and Yami had made up. Good for them. They didn't need to rub it in his face though. Heck, if he hadn't distracted them, they'd probably have burst into spontaneous sex right then and there.

Mokuba frowned slightly at Noa, but didn't say anything and instead turned to look at Seto expectantly while Yami finally sat himself at the table.

Noa sighed internally. So they were all going to be part of this discussion, not that he had a clue about what was left to discuss. Seto had won; he had gotten his way. What more was there to talk about? Well, whatever it was, he wanted to get it over with.

_I bet it's something like how our sleeping arrangements need to be reworked, or, "Oh, by the way, in case you didn't know… you're all staying here while I take care of business in America." Stupid._ Despite Yami's assurances from earlier, he pretty much doubted things would go back to the way they'd been.

As soon as Yami was settled in his seat, Seto plunged right to the issue at hand. "Noa. I want to know how you feel about Mokuba."

"How I…" Noa's jaws slammed shut. "Why does it matter?"

"Don't be an ass, just…"

"Nii-sama…" Mokuba quickly interjected, though he also looked over at Noa as if silently asking him to cooperate as well.

Seto made a disgruntled sound. "Just answer the question. Please."

Noa paused for a moment as he searched for the right words to say, then, as if he suddenly realized that only the truth mattered, he looked up to meet Seto's gaze. "He's more important to me than anyone, or anything, in the world. I'd do anything for him. I still will, even if… even _though_… things are over between us."

"Hn. What if… I were open to the possibility of letting the two of you date? I'm not guaranteeing anything, but…"

"Really…?" Noa began saying, blue eyes wide, but then he hesitated again. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. Did Seto really think he could tell them who they could or couldn't date? How was that fair? Ultimately it wasn't his life no matter what he thought, so why should he get the final say in it? "Well… quite frankly Seto, I don't see why that should matter."

"Noa!?" exclaimed Mokuba. What the hell was wrong with him? Didn't he want to try and give it another shot?

"It's true! This isn't his relationship, so why the fuck should he get to decide something like that? It should be up to you, Mokuba, not him." He then turned to shoot Seto a dirty look.

"Language," Yami and Seto both said simultaneously, though Seto smiled faintly and added, "Is that really what you think, Noa?"

"Yes!"

The brunette nodded to himself. "At least you have your priorities straight, though you may want to rethink that attitude of yours."

Noa looked over at Mokuba, who was frowning in disapproval. He flushed as he realized that snapping at Seto wasn't going to earn him any brownie points with Mokuba. And Mokuba's opinion was what mattered. "I… I didn't mean…"

"Yes, you did," said Seto. "But… I don't really care about that, not right now."

"Well, I care," Mokuba interrupted. "Noa, if you mean what you say, that you'd do anything for me… then stop trying to pick fights with Seto. He's open to the possibility of us having a relationship, so why are you turning this into an argument? You know full well that if he doesn't approve, it really is over, because I'm not willing to sneak around behind his back anymore. So why are you acting like this?"

Noa scowled. "You think I want to be angry? I don't want to argue with Seto. I just want to be with you, Mokuba, but… I don't want to be 'the other person' in your life. It's not fair that I lost you because I can't compete with him."

"You 'lost' me because you _are_ trying to compete with him!" Mokuba responded sharply. "Why does it have to be you or him? Why can't you accept that I love both of you?"

"I…" The green-haired teen faltered upon seeing the distress in those gray eyes, at the way Mokuba turned slightly towards Seto for comfort. He didn't mean to upset him, but apparently he just plain sucked at that.

"Noa, this is only a competition in your own mind," Yami interjected, his voice steady. "A heart is not limited to a finite number of people it can care for. And it is not at all diminished in its capacity by the addition of more. By your logic, Seto cares less for Mokuba now because I'm here. But I can promise you that that is not the case."

A strange look flitted across Noa's face as he mulled that over. It made sense. All of it did. And he knew that. So why was he having such a hard time accepting it, if it were the truth?

"I know you understand," Yami continued, watching the younger teen carefully. "But what you want is Mokuba to be yours and yours alone, and that's selfish. You're asking him to be someone he's not. It's unrealistic, and it's hurting him. Besides… you ought to admire Mokuba's dedication to Seto. Isn't that something you value yourself?"

"Of course," Noa said, frustrated. "And it's not that I don't understand what you're saying. It does make sense. But I…" Something was really bothering him, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. He looked over at Seto, and it just made him angry. And Seto wasn't even saying or doing anything at the moment. "Why is it always about Seto, and not me?" he blurted out, giving voice to his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked. "We're talking about you and Mokuba. Considering how you both feel, I'm trying to understand it, and accept it. But I need to know that such a relationship would be in Mokuba's best interests, and that you won't end up hurting him."

"I won't!"

"You don't think you're upsetting him right now?" Seto argued back.

Noa fought the urge to yell more and instead looked at Mokuba, who had his hand on his big brother's arm, clutching at it for support. The black-haired teen met Noa's gaze and softly said, "Seto and I… we're a package deal. It's always been that way. But that doesn't mean I don't love you too. It's just a different kind of love, not…" He gesticulated, trying to find the appropriate word.

"Not an inferior one?" Yami supplied.

"Yeah." Mokuba gratefully glanced at Yami before going on. "See, that's why I'm not jealous of Yami being a part of Seto's life. I know that whatever Seto feels for Yami doesn't affect the way Seto feels about me."

"But that's not always true! People's feelings change. Like… my father's." Noa threw an almost apologetic look in Seto's direction. "He and my mom didn't get along, but I guess it was okay, because at least I knew how he felt about me. Or… I thought I did. When… after my accident and stuff… I remembered he told me about Seto. I didn't think anything of it though." Suddenly, it got harder for him to talk. His throat was going dry. With effort, Noa managed to say, "He never told me goodbye or anything. He just stopped coming to see me. I guess… he forgot about me, or just… Then, well, know you the rest…"

Yami slowly slid an arm around Noa's shoulder, hugging him a little. It was nice that Yami cared, and Noa thought he ought to be grateful for that, but at the same time he was irritated by the way everyone looked at him with pity, although Seto's expression was heavily colored with anger as well. Noa wasn't sure what to make of that.

"That bastard!" Seto thundered as his rage boiled over. Noa flinched. But Seto wasn't trying to direct his anger at the teen. It was as if suddenly, he remembered who the true enemy was. "If you think that he cared about you Noa, you're wrong. Hell, if he cared, he would have given up everything to be with you. Instead, he locked you away in a virtual prison and left you to rot." Understanding suddenly dawned in the young CEO's eyes, and his voice became a little calmer. "You blame me for it. But if you think I wanted his attention like that, you're wrong about that too. I had no interest in stealing him away from you. How could I when I didn't even know about you?"

"He used you both," Yami agreed.

Noa paled. It hurt to hear it. He wanted to scream that it wasn't true, that his father had cared. But… it was a partial truth. Certainly Gozaburo had doted on him when he was younger, had made him feel important, cherished… He'd been devastated by Noa's untimely death. That's why he had tried to save him, right? That's why he had created that virtual world. But then... then he moved on. Noa was no longer a viable heir. Seto became his new interest, even an obsession…

Maybe Seto had a point. He did blame him for it. It was easy to. If Seto hadn't come along, maybe his father wouldn't have forgotten about him. Did it matter if it had been deliberate or not? The result was the same.

The room became strangely silent until Mokuba took a shaky breath, and whispered, "Is that what… you think I'd do, Noa? That I'd… forget you?"

Noa began to shake his head, but then miserably said, "I don't think you'd do it on purpose. You're not that kind of person. But since your attention is always focused on Seto, would you even remember that I was standing there after a while?"

"You know better than that!" Mokuba cried out. "Noa, even when I thought you were dead and that I'd never see you again… I kept that hard drive with me. Because I thought about you all the time." He bit down on his lip, forcing back the tears. "I was so happy when you came back. And even happier when I realized you felt the same way about me as I felt about you."

The green-haired teen felt his breath hitch. _That's right, Mokuba's always been there for me. _He remembered his first day "back." It had been unnerving. It felt strange being alive once again, and he knew he had no money and most likely, no place to go. His father was dead. For several disorienting, anxious moments he wondered if he would've been better off remaining in that strange virtual limbo he'd been trapped in, then he had passed out. When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed with Mokuba sitting beside him, clasping his hand. The younger boy had immediately hugged him with tears spilling down his face, and told him he was so glad to see him, and that they could room together, "just like brothers." Noa didn't think Seto, who stood in the back of the room with a cold look on his face, would approve of such a thing, but sure enough, it all worked out just as Mokuba had promised.

"But I know I've messed up," Mokuba continued on to say, and Noa wondered what exactly he was referring to. "I don't blame you for doubting me. I shouldn't have kept our relationship a secret. I should have told Seto right at the start, just like you said. But I didn't know how to tell him, and I was afraid if he didn't approve that I'd lose you, and I didn't want that to happen." He took a big breath. "I didn't want to break up with you. In fact, I still want to be with you. But like I said, I can't be with someone who can't accept my brother for who he is, or worse yet, who'd try to hurt him."

"I didn't mean… ah, this is hard. I don't want to be jealous of Seto. But I see how close you are to him, how you'd do anything for him… and I can't help but wish I were in his position."

"I'd do anything for you too…"

"As long as it didn't hurt Seto. I know." But despite his words, he still didn't understand it completely. Maybe he never would. And maybe being second best was what he was destined for. He didn't agree with that. But the more he struggled to prove himself the best, to be worthy of Mokuba's love, the more he felt himself slipping in Mokuba's estimation.

_No… no more._ Even though he had lost Mokuba as a boyfriend, he wasn't going to lose him as a brother as well. And if that meant he had to just suck it in and deal with it, then fine. So Noa squared his shoulders and looked over at the tall duelist seated across from him. If he had to ask for forgiveness, he was going to do it with dignity and pride. "I want to apologize, Seto."

"For what?"

Noa gathered his thoughts, then let them loose in a rush. "For saying the things I said. Doesn't matter that it was a fight… it was stupid of me. Besides, Mokuba would never leave you; I'm sure of that. Guess I was jealous of you, even though it wasn't your fault that my father… left. But more than anything," and he glanced at Mokuba before meeting Seto's gaze once again, "I'm sorry for upsetting Mokuba because I'm supposed to be his brother too, so I know I should have put him first and taken care of him, and I failed to do that."

Their eyes stayed locked on each other for a long moment, then Seto gave a curt nod and said, "Apology accepted."

"Thanks," Noa responded softly.

"And… I want you to know… I don't hate you," Seto awkwardly added. "You wouldn't be living here if I did. But I hate some of the things you've done in the past, just as I hate myself for things that I've done, but… I guess those are the types of things we just have to learn to accept. Right, Mokuba?"

"Yeah," the black-haired teen breathed, sounding a little relieved. "We can only move forward from here."

Seto suddenly smiled at his little brother. "I suppose you could have done a lot worse. There will be restrictions though, so don't get too excited or anything, but…"

Mokuba blinked. "Nii-sama? You're… are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I told you I'd think about it. Of course, what happens from this point on is up to you. If the two of you really want to give this a shot…" and Seto tilted his head, "I guess I'm okay with it."

Mokuba eyes lit up at the news, but Noa didn't seem to be quite convinced by Seto's decision. "What type of restrictions are we talking about?" he asked.

Once again, Seto nodded in approval, and Noa found himself wondering if this was all part of a big test or something. He definitely didn't want to get his hopes up without knowing what the catch was first.

The brunette began ticking off his list. "First off, no sex. You're not adults, no matter how mature you may think you are. Once you're both 18, well…" He waved his hand dismissively, not wanting to say anything more lest he give them ideas. "Secondly, I expect you two to not let this affect your performance at school."

The younger pair nodded in agreement. Nothing unreasonable thus far.

"And third…" And Seto turned to Noa, fixing him with a stern look. "Mokuba means everything to me. You said the same thing. I expect you to remember that. So you better never hurt him, betray him, or break his heart, otherwise I swear I will make your life a living hell. You'll wish you never came out of that hard drive. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, Seto," Noa answered immediately, and he meant it.

"You once told me you thought of all of us as a family. And that's something very important to me. I imagine it matters to you, too." Seto sighed. "You're still my little brother, my responsibility. And I forgot that when I lost my temper. I had no right to lay a hand on you. For that, I am sorry." He slowly reached a hand out and put it on Noa's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

No, things weren't perfect. But Noa didn't expect that. At least now he had a chance to try and make things right with Mokuba. They still had a lot to discuss, but… he was cautiously optimistic. If they were going to give it another shot, at least they'd start things off on the right foot, 'cause he'd made his peace with Seto. And Seto was cool with it now. "It's okay. I know I was out of line. And I won't do that to you again Nii-sama, I swear it."

The young billionaire merely grunted, pretty much having said all he wanted to say, but there was one last thing…

A smile spread across Seto's face as he looked over at Yami, who had been sitting there in near silence the whole while. His crimson eyes shone with approval and a hint of mischief as well, and Seto's other head suddenly chose to remind him that it had been deprived of pleasure since Friday night. Had it been that long since they last had sex? He hadn't thought about it much in the last few days, but with things finally beginning to settle, his relief and libido mingled together in a heady rush. He needed release… and Yami was now grinning wickedly at him and sending him all sorts of vivid thoughts. "Well, I'm glad things are settled. I'm sure you two have a lot of things to talk about. Now then… get out of my office!"

"Um…"

"Out!" Seto barked, already up on his feet and reaching over to pull Yami out of his seat as well. They immediately attached themselves at the lips and began pawing each other as if they couldn't get naked fast enough. Apparently abstinence didn't agree with them.

Mokuba and Noa exchanged quick looks, then as they hurried out of the room, Mokuba shrugged apologetically and said, "Well, look at it this way… at least he's giving us warning this time…"

"NOW!"

Noa rolled his eyes and pulled the door shut behind them.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:   
- Kinda weird, but… I was trying to figure out how I saw the entire Gozaburo and Noa and Seto dynamic. Admittedly in the anime, things don't quite mesh (at least in my mind) on how and why Seto ended up a Kaiba. If you take the idea of Seto beating Gozaburo in a chess match, that's one thing - Gozaburo wasn't looking to adopt and was therefore strong-armed into it. But they also make it sound like Gozaburo was looking to adopt someone to serve as a "rabbit" for Noa before Noa died (or something?), and then when Noa died, Seto was supposed to serve as a body for Noa's mind until Gozaburo figured that he could just groom Seto to be his heir. I find it confusing, SO… what I assumed happened for the purposes of the ficverse was Seto was adopted as a potential rabbit (due to the chess game) but since Noa died before the two ever met, Gozaburo had to change his plans and ended up deciding to turn Seto into his heir instead. Not that you have to worry about all that… but I just wanted to explain how I saw the events so that all the discussion about Gozaburo made sense in this chapter.  
- Time for me to make a pill of myself again: Review please if you enjoyed this (or even if you didn't enjoy it, mm?) Just "thanks for writing" will do. Or even "I spit upon your writing." I just want to know that live human beings are with me for the ride : )


	11. Ch 10: Take a Chance on Me

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "Take a Chance on Me" is from the Mamma Mia, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.

**

* * *

Taboo**

**Ch. 10: Take a Chance on Me**

* * *

Noa followed Mokuba to Seto and Yami's bedroom, where the younger teen began packing up the few things he had moved into the room during his stay there. Mokuba was obviously planning on moving back to their shared bedroom since things were "back to normal," but just because Seto _said_ they could date didn't automatically set things right. For one thing, Seto hadn't mentioned anything about their sleeping arrangement though Noa presumed he knew they'd been sleeping in the same bed. So was it okay for Mokuba to move back in? The younger teen certainly seemed to think so. Whether or not Seto would throw a fit over it remained to be seen.

Still, Noa was starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. There was hope; relationships hadn't been irreparably damaged as he had feared. Or maybe the opening had always been there, but he'd been so blinded by his anger and jealousy that until now, he had seen nothing but a dead end.

Picking a fight with Seto hadn't been one of his brightest ideas, not that he had done it intentionally. Noa supposed they had some unresolved issues. Maybe he and Seto were finally ready to acknowledge that, and thus begin the process of working through them. Perhaps they were more alike than he'd realized. Honestly, he'd never given it all that much thought even though he'd been told on more than one occasion that he reminded people of Seto, or vice versa. He still wasn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted by the comparison. But he supposed that didn't matter because if nothing else, at least they agreed on what mattered most in life, and that was Mokuba's well being and happiness.

As if hearing the train of thought arriving at the station, Mokuba suddenly turned and quirked Noa a small smile. "I'm glad you're not fighting with Seto anymore," he said, relief in his voice.

"I guess I finally realized that he and I have our priorities in the same place. We both want you to be happy." Noa gave a little shrug. "I'm sorry that I've been so selfish as of late. I should have thought about how hard this would be for you."

Making sure that Noa remained beside him, Mokuba began walking out of the room and towards his old bedroom, a small pile of clothing in his arms. "Ugh, you're just as bad as Seto is! You know, this isn't all about me…"

"Yes, it is." Ignoring Mokuba's groans of protest, Noa added, "Look, Mokuba… the important thing is that you're in my life, whether it's as a friend, or a brother, or… something else…"

"Something… else." The smile dropped from Mokuba's face. Yes, the important thing was that they were still in one another's lives, that they still could be friends and brothers, but… he really did want more than that. He wanted what they had before he had ended it. But at the same time, was that what was best for them? He wasn't sure. True, Seto and Noa had apologized to one another, but he knew that they had ultimately done it for him. And he hated that everyone placed their wants and needs behind his, although… well, he couldn't imagine them being any other way. Because that was who they were, and he loved them both, quirks and all. But that didn't mean that he didn't have responsibilites as well. The least he could do was to ensure that he was the type of person worthy of such devotion… "Noa, I need to apologize to you."

"For what?" Noa asked warily.

"Lots of things, I guess. For starters, you were absolutely right that we should have told Seto in the beginning. I bet a lot of this stuff wouldn't have happened if we had been honest with him."

"Maybe. But…" Another small shrug. "I think Seto and I would have found something to fight about sooner or later. It should have happened a long time ago, and it didn't. There were things we just didn't want to talk about, and maybe we both figured, 'Well, if we don't mention them, they'll just go away.' But in reality, it doesn't work that way."

"You're probably right. I just hope in the future, you two don't let things build up until they get this bad."

Noa nodded. "Don't worry about it. I know Seto means as much to you as you mean to me. I won't start another fight with him like that, ever."

Mokuba paled slightly. "That's the other thing. Noa, you're not… second place in my heart, or however you worded it. Like I told you, it's not a competition."

"Yami said that too. But, to be honest… I can't help but see it that way. You said that no one could take Seto's place…"

Mokuba shook his head. "No one; not ever." Seeing the sad look on the green-haired teen's face, Mokuba dumped his clothes on the nearest bed, reached out for Noa's hand and gently guided it to his chest. "Seto will always be my nii-sama. But that shouldn't matter, 'cause that's not who you are to me."

Noa held his breath for a moment and concentrated on the heartbeat fluttering lightly under his fingertips. "So who am I to you?" he breathed.

"My best friend. Maybe… my boyfriend. And maybe someday, my lover…" Mokuba felt a very slight smile touch his lips as Noa's eyes suddenly widened. He couldn't resist leaning forward just a little to deliver a soft kiss. "Isn't that enough?"

"Huh?" He was almost certain Mokuba wasn't referring to the kiss, but it was all he could think about at the moment. "We're not 18 yet," he added stupidly as he wondered if Mokuba was planning to go back to their old sleeping arrangement, with both of them in the same bed.

Mokuba grinned shyly. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But you think you could live with just being my number one friend and boyfriend for starters?"

"I better be the ONLY boyfriend!" Noa said with mock sternness.

"Of course!" The black-haired teen chuckled at that, then sat down on the edge of his bed and patted the space beside him, inviting Noa to sit. If they were really going to give their relationship another go – and Noa certainly seemed willing – he was going to do it properly, and take it from the top. "So, Noa…"

"Hmm?"

"Hypothetically… if I were to ask you out, what would you say?"

Noa smothered a grin. That was exactly what Mokuba had said the first time he had asked him out. But Noa liked that; it was reassuring to know that Mokuba was not only considering a future with him, but remembering their past as well. So of course, he couldn't resist replying with the exact same answer as he had the first time. "Hypothetically?"

"Yeah."

"I'd say yes."

"So…" Mokuba lay back on the bed, lacing his fingers over his stomach. "You wanna go out?"

Noa almost didn't want to say it, but he had to play along. "… No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because… we have a big brother who wouldn't approve of it," Noa recited, knowing that the conversation would have to deviate from the original now that Seto had given his approval. And truth be told, he was curious to hear what Mokuba would say in light of all that had happened.

Mokuba didn't hesitate this time, delivering a simple, honest answer with confidence. "What if I told you that Seto already knows, and that he's okay with it and leaving the decision to us? Then what would you say?"

"Well, in that case…" and a smile broke over Noa's face, "I'd say yes."

* * *

After several minutes of lying on the bed with Noa and doing nothing more than basking in the companionable silence, Mokuba figured he ought to finish moving the rest of his things over. He wase just beginning to prop himself up on the bed when the door opened and Seto and Yami walked in with matching smugly satisfied looks on their faces, their clothing very slightly rumpled. No big secret what had them in such a good mood. Mokuba would have rolled his eyes at them, but he was more relieved than anything else at their antics, so he just gave the pair a small smile in greeting.

The brunette acknowledged his brother with a nod, then took stock of the scene before him: Mokuba and Noa on the bed, along with a small pile of clothing. Well, he hadn't told them that they couldn't room together again… "Moving back in here?"

"Where else would I sleep?" Mokuba asked. He had assumed it was okay to move back into his old room since obviously Seto and Yami were back together and three was definitely a crowd. But now that he thought about it, he should have gotten the official okay before moving his stuff back.

The young CEO grunted, then folded his arms and gave Noa a critical look before turning back to Mokuba. "Sleep of course being the key word. I trust you'll both remember that?"

"Absolutely," Noa eagerly answered.

Mokuba nodded, then added, "And sorry I didn't ask you about it earlier… I shouldn't have made assumptions." He took a breath and went on. "Oh, and Nii-sama… I asked Noa out again, and he agreed. I just wanted you to know."

Seto was a little surprised that Mokuba and Noa had patched things up so quickly, but at the same time he was encouraged by the knowledge that Mokuba had found someone so dedicated. So he found himself nodding slowly at the news, and with a small, reassuring smile, he told the black-haired teen, "Thanks."

"Mm."

"So then… are you boys hungry? I didn't have anything planned for dinner though, so maybe we can all go out for a bite to eat?" Yami suggested. It'd give them all a chance to relax a little and talk… to remember what it meant to be a family.

"Kinda like… a double date then?" Mokuba asked. He liked the idea. Sure, they regularly ate out together, and technically all those "dates" with Kouya and Yamato were double dates too, but to go out as a couple with Yami and Seto made him feel almost… grown up.

"Something like that," said Yami, grinning broadly.

Noa hopped off the bed. "Sounds good! I'm starving."

"Yeah, sounds great!" Mokuba enthused. "Oh, but… if possible, can we stop by Yamato's house sometime tonight?"

"I suppose. Any particular reason?" Seto asked.

"She… helped me out this afternoon. Some of the things she said… guess they're making sense to me now. I just wanted to thank her."

"She sounds like a good friend to have," Yami commented. "You ought to do something in return for her."

"Yeah… hey, maybe we could stop by the florist's so I could get her a little something?" Mokuba asked. Noa smiled and nodded in agreement at the suggestion, and Mokuba felt a slight flush hitting his cheeks at the pride and affection evident in the green-haired teen's eyes. "Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds fine. We need to get going though; you can move the rest of your stuff later tonight," Seto told his little brother, then he began to walk out of the room before pausing near the doorway. "Uh, I need to grab something real quick… meet you guys downstairs in a minute, all right?"

Yami's eyebrow twitched. His boyfriend was up to something. _Kai-baby?_

_Don't worry about it._

If anything, the quick response just made him more curious. _What are you up to?_

Seto chuckled. _Just a little payback… _Yami continued to look at him strangely, so he gave in and sent his lover a mental image of what he had planned.

The crimson-eyed teen nearly choked with laughter at what he saw, but managed to stifle it enough so it only came out as a snort. Seto was thinking they should go to Orange Hill, the same restaurant that he and Yami had their first date at, and then once they arrived there… _You're going to handcuff them together?! _

_Why not? Like I said, payback._

Yami just shook his head as he thought back to the rather unorthodox means by which the younger Kaibas had forced them to stay together for the duration of that blind date. But he wasn't mad about it and knew that Seto felt the same. If anything, the memory made him smile. At least it was an experience that they'd never forget, and it did lead to such a beautiful relationship, which they were both grateful for. Yami supposed that in a way, Seto's desire for "revenge" was a good thing, because by getting them back he was also acknowledging the younger pair's budding relationship. And certainly he wouldn't be expressing his sense of humor if he were still in a foul mood. _I'm a little surprised you didn't spring this on them when they were dating Yamato and Kouya,_ Yami mused, though secretly he was grateful for that, considering that this was a joke best kept in the family.

_Well, I didn't want to scare the girls off,_ Seto said._ Now come on, let's get going… Mokuba's starting to look at us funny._

Sure enough, Mokuba was staring intently at Seto and Yami. "Okay, what are you two talking about? I don't trust that look on your face, Nii-sama."

"It's nothing," the lovers answered in unison. Then they both smiled innocently.

Mokuba and Noa gawked at them, then exchanged quick looks. They didn't need a mind link to know what the other was thinking.

_Uh oh…_

* * *

Bored and home alone, Yamato was flipping through various TV programs and eating coffee ice cream straight from the carton when she heard the doorbell ring. _Huh, that's odd. _She wasn't expecting anyone, and her parents weren't going to be back from their impromptu vacation until tomorrow, so it wasn't like they forgot their house keys… again.

For a brief moment, she fantasized that it was Kouya at the door, a Kouya that had snuck out and stopped by just because she knew her girlfriend would appreciate the company, but Yamato quickly dismissed that thought. Kouya was sooo grounded thanks to Principal Maeda and his love of detentions, and the blonde could just image what Kouya's parents would have to say to their daughter.

"Oh, that Yamato girl, she's such a bad influence on you," Yamato said aloud, mimicking Mrs. Sakagami's voice. She thought it was a pretty good impersonation, and giggled at herself. Then the doorbell chimed again.

"Coming! Geez, probably some door to door salesman," she mumbled to herself as she reluctantly stood up and walked to the front door. But a quick peek through the peephole revealed a familiar, shaggy-haired figure walking away from the house and to a parked sedan.

_Was that… Mokuba? _Puzzled, she cracked the door open. She was about to take a step out when she spotted a bouquet of cheery orange zinnias on the front stoop, prominent and bright in even in the dim porch light. Picking them up carefully, she saw there was a yellow envelope nestled in the arrangement, and the note inside read:

_Yamato,_

_You told me this afternoon that I'd thank you later, so… I guess this is later. Thank you. You were right; I didn't have to choose after all : )_

_- Mokuba _

_(Oh, and BTW… any advice on how I should approach the subject of detention/ )_

"Well, damn." She couldn't resist smiling as she cradled the bouquet, looking up in time to catch the car's taillights disappearing around the corner. While she appreciated Mokuba's thoughtfulness, that wasn't the only thing that cheered her up. Yamato liked knowing that she did good. It was nice not being a screw up all of the time. And Mokuba had been a good friend to both her and Kouya; she was happy that things had worked out for him. "You're welcome, kiddo."

But the freshman was on his own as far as detention…

* * *

OWARI

Author's Notes:   
- Kisses and hugs to Nenya for all the advice and brainstorming and encouragement throughout this fic! You're the only person that makes me really think even when I don't want to!  
- There was originally supposed to be an epilogue scene/chapter, but after I thought about it, the story didn't really need it. But I still want to write it. So it'll end up being a short standalone fic.  
- Re: handcuffs. Just a refresher (or background info if you haven't read some of my older fics), Mokuba handcuffed Seto and Yami together on their first date ("Shades of You and Me"). Noa and Yugi also participated in setting them up for that blind date. So in a later fic, "Games that People Play," Seto gets his revenge on Yugi by handcuffing him to Anzu, and Yami asks him, "Are you going to handcuff Noa and Mokuba every time they go out on a first date with someone?" Seto says, "Sure." And while he didn't cuff the boys to Yamato and Kouya (not that I forgot about it, but I think even he'd understand that that might've been a little inappropriate considering he didn't know them), he's finally getting his revenge on them.  
- Re: zinnias. In the language of flowers, zinnias (in general) symbolize friendship.


End file.
